Kinsfolk, a new series

(Above:  Kinsfolk I - VI.  Individually framed: 25 1/2" x 21".  Original, antique "charcoal" photographs surrounded by parts of an antique crazy quilt with embellishments and hand embroidery.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Lots of people have portraits of long gone relatives that appear to be very accurately drawn in charcoal.  They are frequently in ornate Victorian (often 20" x 16") frames or under convex glass (often 20" x 14").  Guess what?  That aren't original drawings; THEY ARE PHOTOGRAPHS!  Sometimes this type of photographic image is called a "crayon portrait" and other times it is called a "charcoal portrait" because they were enhanced after being photographically printed. The first step was photographic in nature.

 

(Above:  Kinsfolk I.)

These pictures were produced by a solar enlargement process in the late 19th and early 20th century.  One needs to know a little bit about the early days of photography to understand why these pictures became so popular.  Photography was largely experimental in the 18th century but by the mid-19th century the process had evolved to the point where glass negatives were placed in direct contact with chemically treated paper.  When exposed to light, an image was made.

 

(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk I.)

Yet, this meant that the images were only the size of the negative.  Sure ... some of the glass negatives were 4" x 6" to 8" x 10" but that's a rather bulky and expensive way to get a bigger picture ... especially if you wanted the picture to appear like a proper, aristocratic oil portrait.  Many people in the growing "middle class" wanted LARGE portraits but didn't have access or the means for expensive oil paintings.  So, solar enlargers were then invented.  It was a way to use sunlight to project the smaller negative onto a larger piece of treated paper.

 

(Above:  Kinsfolk II.)

Of course, there were problems with this process.  Flaws in the glass were also enlarged.  The edges became blurry (just like enlarging the small number of pixels on a Facebook picture if attempting to print an 8" x 10" picture!)  Early on, the resulting image was also prone to fading.  Adding crayon, charcoal and pastels became the norm.  This also made the images look more realistic, detailed, and closer to the look of an oil painting.  Even as this process improved during the early 20th century, retouching them was popular.  The retouching provided superior detail and color.

 

(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk II.)

Before the retouching, the photograph-on-paper was first mounted to a support made of thicker paper board or even canvas.  Between 1880 and 1930, it was popular for the images to be mounted to convex molded paper boards.  Over time, all these substrata became brittle and were prone to cracking.  Over time, families often forgot the names of their then deceased relative and/or the images were damaged ... frequently with a water stain, a missing corner, or a crack that impacted the sitter's face.

 

(Above:  Kinsfolk III.)

I've used several such "anonymous" portraits in my installation Anonymous Ancestors.    Anonymous Ancestors is currently at the Morris Center of Lowcountry Heritage in Ridgeland, South Carolina until February 17th.  I haven't secured another venue for it.  Plus, there's already over 300 framed pieces.  (Click HERE for a blog post showing how this installation looked while on view at City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston.)  The truth is that I don't need more pieces for Anonymous Ancestors but I couldn't resist these portraits.  I knew I wanted to "do something" different ... but what?

 

(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk III.)

From the recesses of my brain, I remember the cover of Surface Design Association's Summer 2012 quarterly magazine.  (Click HERE to see it.)  I don't really remember the article at all, just the idea of stitching on old portraits. Of course, I didn't want to copy this artist; I wanted to stitch "in my own, personal way" but didn't know what that "way" even was until the first of these four portraits (the black-and-white ones) were donated to my stash.  All of a sudden, I knew!  I even had the crazy quilt to use!  Then, I got one of the colored portraits at Bill Mishoe's auction and a framing client donated the other, colored lady!

 

(Above:  Kinsfolk IV.)

Each of the portraits was fused to upholstery material in my dry mount press.  This was stapled to a stretcher bar.  Next, I pinned a section of the crazy quilt over the surface.  Little by little, I cut from the center to expose the head and part of the upper chest.  A piece of soft orange bridal tulle (fine netting) was then pinned over the entire surface.  This netting protects the fragile places in the crazy quilt and gives the portraits a warm cast.  I stitched flat, red African beads cut from vintage vinyl records around the opening and then added plenty of hand-stitching and embellishments.  The original crazy quilt wasn't particularly decorative.  So, my stitching blends with the original and integrates the netting into the surface.  Finally, I pinned the pieces to acid-free foam-centered board and put them into barnwood black frames.  I'm really please with this series and am now looking for a couple more portraits because I still have enough of the crazy quilt to do at least two more!

 

(Above:  Detail of Kinsfolk IV.)

 Further below are more images of these new pieces! Enjoy!

 

(Above:  Kinsfolk V.)

 

 

(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk V.)

 

 

(Above:  Kinsfolk VI.)

 

(Above: Detail of  Kinsfolk VI.)