The Netherlands Workshop

I just returned from The Netherlands (some call it Holland). I did a two day workshop there at the Pieter Brueghel Art and Culture School. Jeroen de Wijs set it up and made it happen (thanks Jeroen!). He was a great host and the people at the school were wonderful too.

There were six attendees/students and we got to spend all day Saturday making 4x5 black glass Ambrotypes and Alumitypes. I don't do these workshops for money, and even if it were profitable, there's a far more important and rewarding motive to do these. To see people eager to learn a new way to express themselves and then for them to get their hands on the material and make something within a few hours of learning about it is amazing to me.

It doesn't matter if the images are perfect or the subject matter is interesting, the process and the interaction between people is the part that's most important to me now. I think I may be maturing in a new way - I feel less and less anxiety about the work and more and more desire to connect with the people. When was the last time you had the chance to be involved with a group of people sharing experiences, ideas, art, food, coffee and culture? I'm very blessed!

Thank you Summer and Jean for helping make these things possible. Summer assisted me Saturday and shot most of these images.

The Dutch Collodionista Group - 8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype - Veghel, The Netherlands 
"Francie" - a demonstration portrait.
Quinn talks about "salted Collodion" - the introduction to chemistry.
Quinn lectures on the fundamentals of the Wet Plate Collodion process.
Let's talk about lenses - Petzvals, Rapid Rectilinear, and everything in between. 
The students getting started - let the Collodion flow!
Geert-Jan pulls Jereon from the cyanide! 
Cor's self-portrait.

Quinn looking for help from above!

Francie's portrait of Quinn - the Thinker (and very approachable)

Coming through the veil -

Heating and varnishing plates.

One of the most interesting plates of the workshop - Geert-Jan waited a bit too long before droping this plate in the silver bath.
The Thinker gets a coat of varnish. 
All setup to open "the Show" Friday night.  
Having a coffee in the breakroom. 
Draining varnish from "The Thinker" -  
Some photographs from Rudd, a workshop student.
"Let's talk about this plate". 
Using God's light making portraits.
This was the view from our room. The hotel we stayed in was amazing! It was in a little village called, Boerdonk, The Netherlands. The owners were very friendly and had a wonderful little dog called Lennon, as in John Lennon.
The hotel was very nice!