Southern Gravures

Chapel of Ease plate, it hasn't survived all that well

You may or may not know that I lived for a couple of years in Savannah, GA, when I first began my BFA. It turned out that the south was just not my cup of tea but I did have some amazing experiences there. 
My most common photographic subjects while I lived there were the numerous church ruins that could be found just over the border in South Carolina. The other night I had a dream that I was back there photographing. Strange, I know, but I just couldn't resist doing a little throw back and posting some images I took there. After moving to San Francisco, I turned the original large format negatives into photogravures (a long, complicated process that results in copper negatives that are printed on an etching press).

The Chapel of Ease was one of the easiest places to get to, being right off a main road. 

Old Sheldon Church was a little harder to find but possibly my preferred spot to explore and photograph. The church grounds are rather marshy and the ruins are surrounded by trees that make the entrance somewhat dark and gloomy. The ruins themselves are on a bit of a hill and in full sunlight, on a good day. You are so taken by this as you walk up, that you don't notice the strangeness of the trees, until you turn around to leave...

At some point in the past, the holes in the trees were bricked up. I am sure there is some innocent reasoning behind this but I always found them a little spooky, considering the ruins and graves nearby. 

Big Top Etching

Big Top etched plate

I first learned, and fell in love with, etching in the summer of 2004. Being a photo major in college, I didn't have time to do much etching (besides photogravure) over the past 7 years. 

Etching tools and unworked zinc plate

I decided to take an intaglio course at City College of San Francisco this semester and after only two classes, I am once again in love with the process.

First round Big Top print

My choice of subject matter came from a thought I had at work one day: If I had a circus, what would it look like?

Second round Big Top print

Admittedly, I'm not the most skilled at drawing and lately I have been doing whimsical drawings in a more simplistic style. I thought this would work great with my chosen subject matter.

Third round Big Top print

It took three rounds of reworking the plate, each time adding more texture, shading and grass to get the print above, which I'm quite happy with. I'm hoping to have enough time to make one or two more circus related plates before we move on to the next project and next semester I'd like to make a portfolio of my version of the circus.