Forage & Process

Join Curio Club LA for a beautiful and informative nature walk at Deukmejian wilderness park in Glendale, where we will learn about much of the native plants that make up our Southern California landscape. Jacqueline Waldman, photographer turned nature educator at Deukmejian park, will lead the slow-paced hike and teach us about the flora and fauna of the area. During our nature walk, participants will be invited to forage site-specific weeds and fallen organic matter for a subsequent camera-less imaging workshop at the interpretive center.

Back at the nature center Teresa Morrison will lead us in exploring the interactions between expired photographic emulsions and plants using lumen and phytogram techniques. Following a brief discussion and demo of the processes, participants will choose from a selection of paper specimens and press their collected plant matter in contact print frames for sun exposures ranging from 5 to 15 minutes. Using organic plant-derived developers, participants will process their results and fix them as permanent images with sustainable chemistry.

The walk/workshop is recommended for nature enthusiasts, plant-lovers, and art-curious teens/adults of all ages. No hiking or photographic experience is necessary. Expect to be on your feet and moving for at least an hour and then sitting/standing for the art portion of the program. All processing chemistry, frames, and paper will be provided, and each participant will take home several artworks made on vintage photographic papers, as well as knowledge needed to inexpensively adapt these methods to practice at home.

And feel free to hang out and explore the amazing nature center after the event!

What to expect:

• A roughly 45-60 minute nature walk, detailing the local flora and fauna
• Foraging native and invasive plants, to include fallen plant matter
• Learning various camera-less photographic printing techniques and creating your very own prints
• Every attendee will leave with plant prints and newly learned techniques that they can apply on their own

Bios:

About Jacquie Waldman: Jacquie is a nature educator with a great deal of plant knowledge. She firmly believes that comedy + conservation go hand in hand, so she hopes to make you chuckle as you forage! She shoots both 35 mm & medium format, often using Fuji Superia, Expired Kodak anything or whatever loose canister is in the bottom of her bag. Jacquie has shown work at galleries 35M Pro & Film Scouts, often showcasing landscapes or nature. When she can't get outside to shoot, she takes portraits of her two cats, Beef & Chicken.

About Teresa K. Morrison: Teresa is an adjunct professor of visual arts at California State University, Northridge, where she also earned her MFA. She teaches film photography, darkroom printing, and alternative photographic techniques. Her art practice is focused on camera-less processes, with a concerted interest in photo-historical, expired, and obsolete materials. She maintains a growing collection of antique photographic papers that currently counts 52 makers, 14 countries, and 165 brands with expiration dates ranging from 1890 through the late midcentury. She regards time and patience as catalytic studio assistants, and paper variants as collaborators whose unpredictable idiosyncrasies help determine the soul of the work.

*All photos used with permission. A few images borrowed from the Deukmejian Wilderness Park website simply for the sake of representing the space. Each photo is labeled and credited.

Host or Publisher Benjamin Harmon