Behind the Scenes: The Tin Gypsy's Sauvie Island Adventure

I am currently very excited and extremely honored to be working on a collaboration with wonderful artist, Francesca Berrini. Francesca has been constructing intricate and beautiful garments out of natural elements. Over the next several months, she and I wil be collaborating by creating 8x10 tintype images featuring these dresses. For our first outing, we traveled with the Tin Gypsy and a troop of lovely artists and dancers out to a beautiful little spot right on the outskirts of Portland, OR. The beaches of Sauvie Island provided the fog-shrouded, otherworldly backdrop that we had hoped for. It was a sunny, but quite chilly, day. Our wonderful models, both modern dancers with high threshholds for discomfort, had to shiver through the 20 minute wait time between shots and stay perfectly still for 50 second exposures while I hiked back and forth to the Gypsy darkroom to prepare and process the plates. Friends and family came along for the day and ended up working as assistants- helping to wrangle the ladies into the stiff and heavy dresses and keeping them warm and happy during the chilly waiting periods. Thanks to everyone who helped to make the day so fantastic!

In the wilds!

This dress weighs nearly 50 pounds!

It's nice to have friends keep you company while you wait. 

Have I mentioned that it was pretty chilly out? 

Hustle and bustle... wet plate collodion-style.

Aww.

Best of the Maiden Voyage

The Maiden Voyage of the Tin Gypsy was a wonderful adventure! Two weeks spent traveling through Oregon and Washington with the Gypsy... 
the beauty of the mountains, the majesty of coast, the excitement of the cities. 
It was all so fantastic- especially the people we met along the way. 
The wet-plate process is a tricky one, made even trickier when you add in all the new variables of living on the road-- 
unpredictable weather, lack of water sources and dirt, dirt and MORE dirt. 
There were some frustrating moments and more than a few plates that did not come out perfectly, but it was all part of the learning process...
Now we know what to expect and can plan accordingly for the next Gypsy Voyage, 
which will be a cross-country adventure and will hopefully take place this spring! 
Here are a few of my favorites of the Maiden Voyage tintypes...

Ambrotype image by my fellow wet plate collodion artist, Daniel Carillo. My fabulous assistant Lindsey and  I with the gypsy in Seattle!

On the Road Again!

Hello everyone! I've just returned from a truly wonderful Tin Gypsy PhotoBooth event up in Bellingham, WA. There is such wonderful enthusiasm for the arts and for interesting projects and events in Bellingham. The support for the Tin Gypsy Project has really blown me away! I was very fortunate to meet a few of Bellingham's most interesting residents at the event and we even had some unexpected SUNSHINE! A really fantastic day, all-around. Many thanks to the wonderful Shelley and Muzzy, who hosted the event and lent us their beautiful garden for the day. Here are some of  the PhotoBooth Tintypes!

Presentation

Maker Faire is just around the corner and I thought that I would post a few of the new tintype explorations that I have been playing with. The early tintypists of the 19th century valued presentation as an integral part of the craft of making tintypes. There are many beautiful embossed cases and decorative frames that were used to house tintypes of the period. In my ongoing quest to bring my own style and aesthtics to the tintype process, while still honoring the long tradition of the craft, I have been experimenting with different styles of presentation: adding flocked paper and embossed leather to the backs of the tintypes, framing the plates with metallic detailing, and hanging the plates from velvet and linen ribbon. I am really pleased with the vintage, sort of French-inspired look that I am getting. It highlights the tintypes without overwhelming them. 

Heading to NYC

Artist's Sketchbook with Tintype Cover

Very excited to be heading to the BUST Craftacular at Maker Faire in September. If you are in the city, stop by and say hello. My favorite is a coptic-stitch bound artist's sketch book, with tintype covers. Beauty and usefulness! More info about the event here: http://www.bust.com/craftacular/craftacular-home.html