Considered to be the polaroid of the 19th century, tintypes are made straight away. Tintypes are a multi-step chemical process that starts with a thin metal plate being coated with collodion in a very specific and time sensitive manner.
If you've ever heard of the book Surfland, you know Joni Sternbach is the real deal when it comes to antiquated photographs. With a great deal of luck, Joni had agreed to come to Utah State University to teach the photo department the art of the wet-plate collodion process. What a gift! Our workshop was a blast and I can still remember how precious my first tintype felt in my hands. It was small and one-of-a-kind.
Creative ruts can make or break you, and I had been stuck not knowing what direction to take my MFA Exhibition in. Time was closing in on me and my committee wanted answers.
The next morning, I found myself in the photo lab at 8 am (which is a night owls biggest defeat) using up all of the tin and silver nitrate that Joni had left behind. I couldn’t get enough. My professor took note of the resonation I was experiencing and together, we concluded that pursing my nude work in combination with the silky, gorgeous darkness of tintypes would be the way to go for my MFA show.
A decision had been made.
*Please note: All of the tintypes below are my original artworks, except the group photo and the one of me, created by Joni Sternbach.
