On Rose | Susan Chainey | Pop O'Thistle #1

Susan Chainey Pop O'Thistle #1 19x15, Cyanotype with Beet Dye Artist’s Statement I began my photographic work in the 1970’s when I was introduced to the cyanotype process— a 19th Century unpredictable medium that never fails to surprise and encourage experimentation. The work is printed on a variety of bases, including fabric, hand made paper and acid free conservation paper. Sometimes I want to move from blue to other colors. And so I tone my prints. In addition to toning with plant substances such as coffee and tea, I have been using natural dyes (e.g beet juice ) to paint on a final image, melding one natural with another natural to create an entirely new “marriage” of materials. I love the idea of using the sun and its uv rays as the exposure source. The twenty minutes or so as I wait sitting on a bench outside of my Sawtooth studio for the sun to do its work encourages “musing” time. And it is a social experience as passersby stop to chat about the emerging image propped next to me in a glass contact printer. Although I occasionally use vintage sources to make my digital negatives, more typically I take a still life photo, print it on a transparency and use it as a negative for creating a cyanotype version. Biography I was born in New York City. My photography training was in Pennsylvania at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. In 1980 I moved to Davis, California where I raised my two ( now adult ) children. I taught English at Sacramento City College and also continued my photography practice using traditional darkroom processing for my portraits. In 2004 I moved to Berkeley and was thrilled to find a studio where I could resume my exploration of alternative process. For the past five years I have been happily experimenting and playing in the Sawtooth Building Studios in Berkeley.