Now that it's nearly mid September, the temps here in the Sonoran Desert are slowly, gradually, quietly, subtly, ever so faintly lowering. When the local weather person mentions "tomorrow the temps will be below the triple digits", all who sit in front of the T.V. will give a collective "ahhhhhhhhhh" with big grins for everyone because we've made it; we've survived another hot desert summer, & are now going to have about 9 months of sweet, gentle climate in which to run, skip, & jump outdoors as much as we wish. Changes of season here, they come on like a whisper. A person has to have the eyes for them to see them, & my eyes for them have developed over a period of years because I moved here from Kentucky where the seasons sometimes hit like a strong fist. Here they come for a visit, then leave for a week or two, then they come back around to gossip about the 'possibility' of seasonal change. Then one day all of a sudden I realize how autumn has suddenly grabbed me in the chest & shaken out memories of Halloween & Thanksgiving & running & biking & outdoor Greek festivals. I find myself standing outside during late evenings silently looking at the sky, or leaning against an outside wall just looking around for projects to do without wincing from sweat streaking down my face, or at the thought of "Damn it's scorching freakin' hot out here."
So here I am knocking at the door of autumn, looking for outdoor projects to do. My first declaration of independence from the confines of the house involves an alternative photographic printing process I learned during my photo marathon with Rachel Woodburn & Carol Panaro-Smith in June. With cyanotype chemicals consisting of a mixture of potassium ferricyanide (red) & ferric ammonium citrate (green) I can make some very cool prints without using a camera, but just with these historic photographic chemicals, some paper, (or fabric, or wood, or just about any surface), and the sun, the last of which there is no shortage here. Later I will show you the process as I do it. Thank you Rachel and Carol for taking the time to show me this process!
One last comment: here I am autumn! Come and get me!
Check out my pals:
Rachel Woodburn Carol Panaro-Smith
I'm eager to hear about the process.
ReplyDeleteZu, I'm waiting for the heat (outside) to lower.
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