lornamatic

So every so often, you get a severe urge to do some polaroid emulsion transfers.

Once in a while, the urge strikes at 10PM at night, and there are no more yard sales and the photography stores are all closed, and even if you bid on the ENDING SOONEST items on ebay, it isn’t going to come fast enough. Exactly what are you supposed to do then?

Well, Walgreen’s was open tonight. They had Polaroid 600 cameras for sale, not the right kind for emulsion transfers. Instant gratification dies hard. We bought one anyway.

So, now you’ve a Polaroid 600, some film packs, and all the art paper in the world. But you’ve still got the wrong kind of Polaroid to use with an emulsion transfer, and you’ve still got that instant gratification problem. What to do?

We did all the same things you’d do, as if we had all the right equipment for the transfer. See, Mike and I are stubborn people, and we have spent years honing our craft on each other. When we both get the same idea in mind, not all that much that can stop us.

So, on the off chance that you find yourself stuck in similar straits, here’s how to fake a reasonably cool looking polaroid transfer in Photoshop CS2.

Prep:
Get scissors and paper. Keep them nearby. We used Strathmore Bristol Board, Smooth finish.

Step 1:
Take a picture with the Polaroid, and quickly cut the two sides and bottom off the developing photo. Leave as much border as you can - this will make your frame more interesting.

Step 2:
Peel the sides apart and press the icky side firmly down on your paper. (Warning, yucky chemicals here, and they’re probably not good to get on your skin, so be careful or something!)

Step 3:
Let the film sit for about 2 minutes, then peel off the plastic. The image itself won’t transfer, but all the emulsion yuck will. Let the paper dry for a few minutes: this is what you’re going to scan.

Step 4:
Scan in the dry emulsion, and open the file in Photoshop.

Step 5:
In Photoshop, create a new layer in the emulsion scan file. Paste your source image (I used a picture of a yellow rose) into the new layer.

Step 6:
Set the layer effect for the source image to Overlay. You should see something that is starting to look a lot like a real emulsion transfer.

Step 7:
Use your favorite technique to erase the boundaries of your source image, so that it fits on the emulsion scan. I used the eraser tool, changed opacity several times, and used different brush shapes to allow the grunge of the emulsion to show through.

That’s it! Here’s what I came up with:

Update:PDF of the clemency decision here:
http://www.governor.ca.gov/govsite/pdf/press_release_2005/Williams_Clemency_Decision.pdf.

Excerpt (links added):

The dedication of Williams’ book “Life in Prison” casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams’ claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to “Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga
Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George
Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars.” The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement.

But the inclusion of George Jackson on this list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.

Right. Guilt by association. I can’t possibly argue with that kind of logic.

Gov. Schwarzenegger is contemplating clemency for Stan Williams. Stan Williams has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize five times, for his work on reducing gang violence and helping keep kids away from gangs. He’s also a convicted killer, who is scheduled to die on Monday.

I believe that he has a great deal to offer, particularly with his work to connect with at-risk kids and keep them from making the same mistakes as he has.

I’m really hoping for clemency. I signed an online petition to the Governor. You may or may not agree with my views on this, and you can feel free to let me know, but my conscience demands that I post this.

It’s a story we should all be aware of and I hope you will want to learn a little more about it.

Stan Williams bio:
http://www.savetookie.org/bio.html

The petition sent to the Governor’s office is at:
http://www.cm-p.com/pdf/executiveclemency.pdf
(Launches Acrobat)

The online petition I signed is at:
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

(Currently at ~41K, they are looking for 100K.)

I’ve been taking an intermediate figure drawing class at UCLA. I love the class, I love the instructor, the models are always fantastic, the lighting is good, I’ve learned a great deal, and it’s been a very positive experience.

Except.

Every week, there is one homework assignment. A SELF PORTRAIT. The parameters vary, one week it might be using chiaroscuro, sfumato, or simply black and white chalk on colored paper, but it’s always the same assignment. Another SELF PORTRAIT.

I find flow looking at things outside myself, most especially in the natural world. It quiets my mind in the most amazing and restorative way. I can get lost for hours looking at the contours of a shell or a skull - even at the face or shape of another person.

I don’t have quite the same reaction to mirrors, though. An hour of self contemplation, even with really interesting light, only results in my mind wandering.

“Hm, I should get a haircut. Something different. Maybe I should go back to that place in Brentwood. I liked that place. I want to let it grow out, though. Maybe I should try a different color. Hm, interesting. My eye teeth are not totally level. I wonder if I should call an orthodontist. Orthodontist? HA. I haven’t even found a dentist I like in LA. I should start with a cleaning. Tooth whitening, too. I don’t want to look like one of those scary super bleached out Xenon headlights people, though. I wonder if their teeth fluoresce under black light. I probably should drink less coffee. If I lightened my hair, I’d definitely need to get those Xenon teeth treatments. I need to get my car smogged too. I really need a better todo list. Someone should write a program for that. Oh wait, someone already did… I should really check that… I wonder what my password was…”

So I never leave the analytical world. Bad monk, no Zen. Consequently every homework assignment I bring in ends up looking rather like a technical illustration: flat, analytical, literal. Distracted.

From Diary, by Chuck Palahniak :

When they were in school, Peter used to say that everything you do is a self-portrait. It might look like Saint George and the Dragon or The Rape of the Sabine Women, but the angle you use, the lighting, the composition, the technique, they’re all you. Even the reason why you chose this scene, it’s you. You are every color and brushstroke.

Peter used to say, “The only thing an artist can do is describe his own face.”

You’re doomed to being you.

This, he says, leaves us free to draw anything, since we’re only drawing ourselves.

Your handwriting. The way you walk. Which china pattern you choose. It’s all giving you away. Everything you do shows your hand.

Everything is a self-portrait.

So my teacher has been bemused by the vast difference between my loose and more abstract style in class and that of my homework.

“You are too careful about how you look,” he said. “Just look at the form, at the light. This week, when you draw your portrait, use charcoal, and wipe it down. Draw it again, and wipe it down. Keep doing it.”

So last night I set up shop in front of the mirrored door in Mike’s office. I have one in my office, too (I live in Los Angeles, where there is some local zoning ordinance requiring every room in every home to have at least one floor to ceiling mirror), but I decided a change of scenery would help.

So I sat down at the mirror, face to face for a friendly fireside chat with my nemesis. Armed only with a sketchpad, sanguine and black charcoal, a pentel click eraser, and a dirty old chamois cloth, I drew. And wiped. And drew it all back in. And wiped it all away.

Self-portrait, Sisyphus.

It worked. After the first awkward line drawing was wiped away, I started right in on the next one. With each wipe down, the paper got dirtier, I got dirtier, the surface got more interesting, and the proportions got easier. The slightest hint of drawings past remained, a charcoal scent trail, refined with each generation. Just like the ants do. Do the hard work this time - it might be mostly washed away, but it will be easier the next time.

Draw. Wipe. Do it again.

Almost an hour passed. I didn’t notice. I forgot to obsess over unrelated details. There was even a decent rendering of my own face on the page - far more interesting and rich in texture than the work I’d done before. And the most unexpected thing? I really enjoyed it.

I actually enjoyed doing a self portrait.

It’s a truly magical thing when you find a teacher gifted enough to not only recognize a problem, but to also prescribe a solution. The kind of person who can still teach you something, who can surprise you, days later and miles away.

For the folks who are looking for the song in the Sony Bravia (Bravia, Brevia, whatever) commercial, it is titled Heartbeats, and it is from José González’s debut album. You can order it from Amazon:

- from the t2 eyewear line, from swissflex.
- made of flexible plastic (same stuff as they make heart valves out of).
- have no screws, instead, are held together by plastic rivets.
- are fully customizable, though I didn’t opt for the embedded diamonds.
- came with nutrition facts. Nutrition facts!