Bushwick Open Studios

The Bushwick Open Studios this weekend was a great event. The weather was perfect and even with the L train not running normally there were large numbers of people wandering the neighborhood. We acted as the hub for this part of Bushwick and drew in close to 150 people over the saturday and sunday. People loved the space and the photography that we had up. The magnet wall was a huge hit and more than one person expressed surprise that there were still enlargers, lenses and chemistry trays in the darkrooms. It was fun to show people around and explain some of what we can do. Thanks for coming out to Bushwick.

We are up and running

After the move it took longer than I had hoped to get up and running but we are about 90% set up. Still nothing on the walls but all the major equipment is good to go. I just fired up the Theimer UV light source and am testing polygravure plates.

I spent part of the weekend painting and some of the time sanding these doors to bare metal, so they have that shiny swirly bare metal look. The doors are actually pretty easy but the jams had a coating of primer already on them and they took longer than I had hoped. They were all installed yesterday and they look great. 

The new space gets some seriously great light in the mornings.  The bright white walls help to reflect it around so that the work area has a soft even glow.  I'm building simple hanging bulb light fixtures for the late afternoons and evenings. I found some cool parts at GrandBrass in Conneticut to use. I'm going with the turn of the century light industrial look that the building itself has.

The Drawings

Jen And Roy Leone came by the space a few Saturdays ago to help me sort out how to arrange things in a way that made sense. They are Architects so that is what they do, and they do it well. They asked all the right questions and Roy came by the current lab to check out what workflow was like.  I had a simple design in mind but I knew that Jen and Roy could improve in it. They tend to immerse themselves in really cool projects so this is pretty small potatoes. Check out their website to see what they are really capable of.  

A general sense of space

Construction Begins...

Here we go, I signed the lease finally yesterday and we are moving in 3 weeks. We're in a mad dash to get construction going.

The new building is an old brick industrial building and has a great feel.
Plans are in the works for a large black and white darkroom with room for making oversize prints. The color darkroom will still have enlargers and there will also be ample room for historical print making.  

The UV light source is on the way. Platinum prints have lately become my obsession and when this is all set up, I'll be making large prints. Think 30x40. Wow.