Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Owl Shaman Decalcomania





Update:
Softened colors.



The Surrealists used to press paint between panels and pull them apart to get beautiful random patterns (this was called 'decalcomania'). I had the same thing happen with some old stacked photo prints that got wet. They were symmetrically 'book-matched' like wood veneers, but in different colors. I turned them into an 'Owl Shaman' in mid transformation. Below are some of the original damaged photos. They were from New Years hike I took with my friend Kelli. Do you see the owl hiding in the damaged photos?

5 comments:

  1. did no one really comment? because this is owl shaman is beautiful!

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  2. hi! this has been on my bookmarks for a long while. i was just wondering, and hoping you'd help me out- were the original pictures (that got wet and "damaged") developed and printed from film? also, is this 1 or 2 pictures, and how were they stuck together? really appreciate your help! x

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    Replies
    1. Kim: yes this was a stack of old school film prints that got wet with red wine. I found them while they were still damp and pull them apart. The print sides were facing each other in the stack. It was like 10 prints or so.

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  3. I love it! I'm going to use it as an example for my students of decalcomania, I think they will find it inspirational. Thank you and I will make sure to give you full credit and attach this url.

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