Christina Z. Anderson's Salted Paper and Gum Bichromate Workshop June 18th -23rd 2017

Gum has been my process of choice for going on twenty years. It is, in my not-so-humble opinion, the queen of all processes. It is the most luscious, juicy, colored alt process there is.

Before and after the gum tri-color process.

Salted paper is just plain fun, and the first photographic process on paper. It has a historic “aura” unlike any other. Salted paper is quick and easy, but requires attention to clean practice. Gum is slow and layering, but will take whatever you throw its way. Once you get gum figured out, which you will during the workshop, it is actually quite simple and very forgiving. The two in combination have a unique color palette, somewhat “old world.”

Christina and her students at the 2016 workshop

We will be making the best use of our time (and the sun!) going back and forth between the two processes, and combining them in different ways. We will be printing with digital negatives so bring lots of digital images to work with on your laptop. You can choose to do as much of one process or the other as suits your desires and fits your images.

Hanging student work.

One of my “salt and alt” enthusiasts, Megan Crawford, will be my TA at the workshop. Megan is a newly graduated alumna of Montana State University, so my goodbye to her as my student is now a hello to her as a fully qualified alt and salt teacher. Two of us working with a small group of students will be double the value.

Why choose the Photographer’s Formulary for a workshop out of all the myriad things you could choose to do in the summer?

The Formulary is in the middle of Big Sky country, an hour north or south from the nearest town. It provides the peace to relax and meet your creative goals, while food and lodging are completely taken care of by the owners and managers of the Formulary. There are no distractions. The dining area, darkrooms, dimrooms, are all in one large facility, open 24/7, a short amble from your bedroom.

Gorgeous Holland Lake, Montana is a short drive from the Formulary!

It is truly a magical experience. 

Bring comfortable clothes and shoes—e.g. pajama pants welcome. And at what other workshop do you have access to a chemistry store on premises to meet all your alternative process needs? Also, a lot of the off-the-record knowledge tends to happen over that beverage of choice before dinner so bring your favorite bottle of wine or two for the week.

Hospitality Montana style at the Formulary.

Arrive by 4PM or so Sunday evening and unpack and unwind. We all share conversation and dinner that night, and after dinner I will get you up and running for a short period of time before bed. Monday through Thursday you will have from 9AM to 9PM (or all hours!) to work on your images. Friday morning is what I call a day of detachment, a review of what the class has accomplished, perhaps a lunch together on the way out of town, and back to reality.

Take a trip to beautiful BigFork, Montana located on Flathead Lake.

This amount of time is perfect, neither too short nor too long. If time and money allow, a day or two of vacation after the workshop to photograph the Montana landscape would be awesome; Big Fork is a darling town, Flathead Lake is gorgeous, and if you haven’t been to Butte Montana that is quite the place for photographers.

A couple hours away is historic Butte, Montana. A Photographer's dream.

This workshop's registration is closing soon! If you are interested in learning more about this experience and/or would like to sign up you can click here.

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Christina Z. Anderson is an award winning artist, educator, and author. To learn more about Christina and her work please visit: www.christinazanderson.com