This event has been cancelled. Click here for more upcoming workshops at Art Intersection.

Albumen was perfected in 1850. For the first time in photographic history there was a means of inexpensively producing multiple paper based images from a single negative. It became the dominant form of photographic positives from 1855 to the turn of the 20th century when it was eventually replaced with silver gelatin. Prints on albumen produce a wonderful tonal range, with a unique sheen of a pearl essence that no other medium can achieve.

In this hands-on workshop, the history and process of albumen will be discussed. Students will learn how to make albumen and coat paper with albumen, then sensitize paper with silver nitrate, print and tone with selenium. Each student will be able to leave with their own batch of albumen, and a few of their own albumen prints. Troubleshooting will be discussed in regards to paper, negatives, and chemical issues and students will walk away with an understanding of achieving the best albumen results in order to practice this medium independently. Students will be printing with digital negatives tailored specifically to the albumen process, but in order to maximize workshop printing time, these negatives will be prepared ahead of time. More details will be provided closer to the workshop date. This workshop is intended for students of all levels, as it is introductory to albumen, but students with an understanding of alternative processes may achieve a greater understanding of technicalities.

This workshop is a PhotoTapas event, celebrating February as the Arizona month of photography.

Utopia 2, 2013, Jennifer Schlesinger

About Jennifer Schlesinger

 Jennifer Schlesinger is an artist, curator, and educator based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. For the past 5 years her artistic medium of choice has been the 19th Century Albumen process and her work mostly focuses on the landscape and how humans philosophically interact with the natural world around them. Schlesinger graduated from the College of Santa Fe in 1998 with a B.A. in Photography and Journalism. Schlesinger has exhibited widely at Southwest regional institutions such as the Marion Center for Photographic Arts (SFUAD), Santa Fe Art Institute and the New Mexico Museum of Art, as well as national institutions such as the Southeast Museum of Photography and the Chelsea Art Museum. Her work has been published online and in print with international publications such as Black and White Magazine (U.S. and UK), the cover article for Diffusion Magazine Volume III, and Fotoritim in Turkey. Schlesinger is represented in many public collections, including the Southeast Museum of Photography, FL; The New Mexico Museum of Art, and the New Mexico History Museum / Palace of the Governors Photo Archives. She has received several honors in recognition of her work including a Golden Light Award in Landscape Photography from the Maine Photographic Workshops and the Center for Contemporary Arts Photography Award in Santa Fe, New Mexico, both in 2005. She has been awarded many distinctive nominations such as the Santa Fe Prize for Photography by the Center and the Eliot Porter Fellowship by the New Mexico Council for Photography. In addition to her artistic career she was also the Assistant Director of Santa Fe Art Institute from 2003-2005 and has been the Director of VERVE Gallery of Photography since 2005. Schlesinger has taught Adjunct at the College of Santa Fe and continues to teach via workshops through the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and other venues. In addition, Schlesinger has served on many photographic panels, as a Reviewer for portfolio reviews, and as a juror for worldwide photographic competitions.

Jennifer teaching an albumen workshop

Here Nor There 2, Jennifer Schlesinger