Gum Bichromate Printing
Instructor: Scott McMahon

Discover the beauty and painterly quality of the gum bichromate process. This workshop will focus on the light-sensitivity of chromium salts mixed with gum arabic and watercolor pigment. Students will contact print their negatives using actinic light sources and render images in multiple layers of pigmented gum emulsion. Watercolor and printmaking paper will be used as a support to print saturated images from a broad palette of color. Various light-resists may be used such as: large format negatives (4×5 and larger), pinhole, enlarged negatives, inkjet transparencies, cliché-verre, drawings and virtually anything that will block out varying amounts of light. This workshop will also focus on print manipulation techniques, guidelines for mixing chemistry and colors, sizing and coating paper.

Students should bring: 2 or 3 large format negatives (see above). Medium format negatives will work if a miniature print is desired.

Class is limited to 8 participants.

Location: Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Date: May 31, 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm (with one-hour break for lunch)
Tuition: $200
Materials fee: $35 (payable directly to Scott)
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Gum Bichromate image ‘Sinking’ by Scott McMahon

About Scott
Scott McMahon is currently Assistant Professor at Kutztown University (Kutztown, PA). He received his MFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, MA and his BFA in Photography from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. His work has been published in Pinhole Photography, Rediscovering a Historic Technique by Eric Renner, The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes by Christopher James. Scott has exhibited throughout the United States, recent exhibitions include: Forgotten Attributes, Three Columns Gallery at Harvard University (solo), The Bioluminescent Firefly Experiment, University City Arts League, PA (collaborative) and E3 Gallery in NY (solo). Scott has taught classes and workshops in gum printing, pinhole/zone plate and contemporary tintype at Peters Valley Craft Center (NJ), Arrowmont School (TN), Museum of Photographic Arts (CA), The University of the Arts (PA), Connecticut Graphic Arts Center and Massachusetts College of Art. Scott currently serves on the board of Society for Photographic Education (SPE Mid-Atlantic region).