Tri-Color Gum Bichromate Open Studio

Tri-Color Gum Bichromate
The 19th century photographic process of gum bichromate uses color separation negatives to make multilayered, tri-color prints on watercolor paper. An emulsion mixture of watercolor pigment, potassium dichromate, and gum arabic is brushed onto watercolor paper, dried, and after placing a negative on top, exposed to UV light. The prints are then ‘developed’ in plain tap water. Layers are built by repeated coatings and careful registration of negatives until a full, rich image is achieved. Participants are also welcome to explore one-coat, monochrome prints, made using black and white negatives.

Open Studio
Individuals who have taken a tri-color gum bichromate workshop at Art Intersection or who are proficient in the process are invited to participate in a Open Studio day dedicated to tri-color gum bichromate! There are two options in registration pricing. An All-Inclusive registration for $50 gets you access to the lab for the day and materials for up to three tri-color prints. If you would prefer to bring your own paper and pigments, you are welcome to use the lab for the day, including our equipment, gum, and dichromate, for $35 – just select the Studio Only registration option.

The cost of printing separation negatives is not included in either of these registration fees. Art Intersection staff will print digital negatives on demand for $5 each. Participants are encouraged to bring in-progress prints and transparencies they already have!

Note: this is not a workshop. While other artists will be present to share ideas and methods, there will be no instruction on the gum printing process.

Working Group
In addition to the open lab, the day will start at 9am with a Gum Printing Working Group meeting. This is an opportunity to meet other gum printers, reconnect with friends from workshops, share some work you’ve done already, and crowd-share knowledge. This meeting will last no longer than an hour, but may be more brief depending on how active the discussion is. Art Intersection will host Working Group meetings and Open Studios on a recurring basis.