Best Book Buy During Short Calgary Trip

17 Thrift Store book buys today. Best book is this wonderfully inspiring Claude Monet book. It was the last book of a long and tiring day (buses, 2 restaurants and 5 thrift shops, while lugging bags, a backpack and a cart). Sometimes an extra effort when your tired is rewarded!!! It will inspire me to make Ambrotypes. Got it free off points.

Best value was 6 books for 33cents a piece. Got a Obama, Aids in Africa, Lincoln, Berthe Morisot, Fish, Taliban books for $2.

GOTTA LOVE BOOKS!!

 

Note * ended up with 19, new/used books.

 

Love My Freddy

Working on. Freddy my wet plate trailer. Silver in, chemistry n, water in. painted counter done. Cleaning and remaining things I do not need to carry. Charging all batteries (4 lead acids).

Working on Freddy!

 

Quote: Bill Brandt (Photographer)

“Shameless Hussy”

My 33 cent book on Berthe Morisot. A creative person ahead of her time. Was reading how she outsold Monet, Sisley and Renoir at their 4 person Impressionist exhibition, 1875. How people derided their work, placed ridiculously low bids etc. Most of the exhibition sales were to friends and family. 

At the first public showing of the exhibition Renoir claimed someone yelled out “Shameless Hussy”, which was directed at Morisot.

First Day, 2 Flat Tires!!! on Fanny

Unlucky start! Got a flat tire, inner dually drivers side. Waiting on AMA to come and change  the tire. Will need to go get the tire repaired after. Bad luck screwing up the first day. Losing 4-5 hour on this.

Update. AMA DOES NOT CHANGE DUALLY INNER TIRES. WE WILL HAVE TO GET THE ENTIRE MOTORHOME TOWED TO A TIRE SHOP IN WETASKIWIN THEN REPAIRED THERE.

Big operation towing Fanny our class C motorhome.  Big tractor trailer truck plus a big tow truck and a 3/4 ton truck. 3 men, 3 large trucks. Just to take her to there repair shop 17 km away!!

They did a good job, very knowledgeable men in the field and at the Fountain Tire Shop. It took around 5 hours and cost $405 for the tire work, AMA covered the tow. 

One tire (inner dually) had a 10 inch gash in the tread, tire needed replacing, the second tire (outer dually) had a leaking stem valve, repaired. 

Overall the guys did a great job, thanks.

Fanny loaded on a semi truck trailer with b2 flat tires

Link: Victoria’s Camera Club Talk Confirmed!

Will do a ZOOM talk for the Victoria Camera Club on Thursday January 14, 2027. They will pay $250 CAD, money to be used to help the people in the pictures.

Victoria Camera Club

Albertina Collection Book

A large 700 page book filled with so many lovely and moving drawings/watercolours from the Albertina collection. Work from Michelangelo, to Goya, to Warhol, and so many artists I did not know. This is my favourite type of book, filled with creativity and beauty.

Thrift store find, $8.75 CAD.

Another Possible Talk, Victoria Camera Club

Another possible talk is shaping up. It looks like it will be a ZOOM talk withe the Victoria Camera Club. Possible date will be sometime in January, 2027.

Nothing set yet but if it happens that will be a little more food donation money for the people in the picture/projects.

Note, Now have one scheduled talk for the Kelowna Club, another one in Halifax (hope to do it live) and now this third in Victoria.

Nice Thrift Store Find

Found a vintage (1970s?) staple gun at a thrift store for $6.30 CAD, got me 5000; staples online for $5. A good deal, new staple guns run $40 plus. This one is better built, near indestructible.

Will use the stapler to attach the cloth to the silk screen frames I make. 

Motor Home Fanny Getting Ready

"Fanny" the motor home is getting ready for the road. Doing cleaning, adding batteries, water and even did some painting! Cleaned up a wall that had silver nitrate stains on it, a new coat of paint helps make things look cleaner. 

Also removed a bunch of stuff, mostly books, that were not required. Took the new cat SingSing for a look see in Fanny as well. She seems to handle the noise of the diesel engine better than Dimsum the male cat.

Hoping to take a 2 day trip to Calgary to test everything soon. Will travel without the darkroom trailer. Later on when the trailer "Freddy" is ready, will take both "Freddy and Fanny" out to make photos for the wet plate ambrotype project AMBROTOS KANATA. Hoping to do my first British Columbia photo making trip then.

Painted wall

Cleanup in progress

Attempting to Paint Darkroom Trailer Counter Top

Decided to paint my counter top (after sanding), in the wet plate darkroom trailer. The stains from Silver Nitrate were very bad, and anytime you touched the counter some of the black filth followed you. I decided to try a paint job. I got some old paint from the basement and did 2 coats, will do 1 more tomorrow.

Not sure this will work but it seems better so far. 

Note* I also did a bit of painting on one wall in Fanny the motor home, covering up some silver night stains there as well. Silver nitrate is NASTY, it gets on everything.

Paint attempt, second coat!

Silk Screen Art Making Plans

Been thinking of my sideline art, silk screen prints on paper. I will go it on my own at first, setting up an outdoors printing area. I have started to buy supplies. Am also going to make my own wooden screens to save money. I have always taught myself, am a self taught kinda guy and this latest art venture is no different.

If things go well and if I like the process and the art created, I might try printing on canvas. I could even at some future date submit the paintings for exhibitions. Lets see how things work out. Lots of questions yet!!

Another possibility is taking an advanced course at SNAP (Society of Northern Alberta Print-Artists) here in Edmonton, after I teach myself the basics, and then using/renting their facilities during the winter months (when I cannot work at home, outside). That is assuming of course I become proficient enough at the process that they issue me access and a fob.  SNAP charges $198 CAD a month plus a membership cost. I think there an old fogey discount as well, that i should qualify for.

PS. Thank you Jim G, for introducing me to SNAP! 

https://snapartists.com/ 

SNAP facility

History Remembered

David Kirby was born in a small Ohio town, where he had a difficult adolescence due to his sexuality. After graduation, he moved to California, and he became an outspoken AIDS activist as the disease devastated the country in the 1980s. Then, he learned that he'd contracted HIV. Although he was estranged from his family at the time, Kirby called his parents and asked if he could come home to Ohio to die surrounded by his loved ones. After undergoing treatment at a local hospital, he was ultimately transferred to Pater Noster House, a hospice facility for AIDS patients.

 

He died there on May 5, 1990, at age 32 — but David Kirby's story wasn't over. A photojournalism student named Therese Frare had taken photos of Kirby on his deathbed, and one was published in "LIFE" later that year. Today, it's one of the most iconic images from the epidemic, and it revealed the true devastation of AIDS at a time when the disease was still largely misunderstood by the general public. Learn more about David Kirby and his tragic final moments.

 

photo by Therese Frare

Silkscreen Making Bible

Hope this helps on my silkscreen journey. Should be making prints of the photography this summer. Gathering supplies and knowledge, a fun side art thingy.

Link: 2 AMBROTYPES of the Plant Rejected

The 2 Ambrotypes I wrote of early were rejected by the Strathcona Art People. I was told that because I did not live in the region I did not qualify. Never mind that I worked over 30 years in the region and the facility was an integral part of the community. 

Nothing says art and the search for art like RULES RULES RULES. These people need to bend a few RULES to have a collection of art that really matters. As the Thais say "Up to Them!!"

This is the second rejection for this work. I guess it is not as strong as I feel. At least in the eyes of the art folk making the buying decisions.

 Link To Ambros offered for sale

Fanny and Freddy, Back to Life!

Getting the motor home FANNY ready for the AMBROTTPE making season. Working on the darkroom trailer FREDDY this week as well!

Tarps off, batteries in!!!!

 

Khun Dom, Memory

This picture of Khun Dom was posted 6 years ago on my FaceBook page. He is long gone, not sure if he passed on or just moved away. He sold YaBa tablets to passing Thais on motorbikes. A bit of an excentric fellow, but he was always nice to me.

His memory makes me wonder, who I will find under the freeway my next visit. Thais can be such good and kind people, I look forward to new friendships. 

Dom 58, THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP, Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2019 

More Thrift Show Art Books

Today’s Thrift store art books. Total cost $9.79 CAD. The Pompeii book is especially interesting, which I got free, buy 4 (30% discount for old age), 5th is free.

Links: Discovered a New Turner Painting

 

Mount Vesuvius in Eruption

J.M.W. Turner

• Date: 1817
• Style: Romanticism
• Genre: marina
• Media: watercolor, paper
• Location: Yale Centre For British Art (Yale University), New Haven, CT, US
• Dimensions: 39.7 x 28.6 cm

Buying Supplies for Silkscreen Printing

I have started to buy supplies, tools to do silkscreen printing. I will try to save money where possible. I will make my own screens to start with, see how that goes. Not take a course yet, see if I can manage it on my own. 

Hopefully I can start making some prints on paper this summer. Maybe eventually printing onto canvas, making paintings I can exhibit at galleries. I can then use that money earned from exhibitions to help the people in the original photographs.

Bought a Power Washer

I have tried to be more careful with money since my retirement but felt I needed this tool. I will use it to wash the motor home, the truck, and the car along with washing around the house. I also intend to use it to wash my screens in my coming silk screen art work. I probably can figure out a way to use it on the wet plate project as well. 

Got the Dewalt 2400 PSI, 13 AMP Corded Electric Cold Water Pressure water. Cost was $379 CAD, which is supposedly a $60 discount. Dewalt has served me well when it comes to my woodworking tools, so decided to go that way again after watching several YouTube videos on the product.

Product details:

Overview

Model # DWPW2400 Store SKU # 1001592017

You can rely on the durable, mobile, and powerful DEWALT 2400 psi Pressure Washer, delivering enough power to handle your outdoor cleaning tasks. Be prepared to tackle just about any job or wash your vehicle with the accessories you need. This Cold Water Pressure Washer comes equipped with five nozzles, including a Turbo nozzle and built in storage for organization. Built to transport over rugged terrain, the pressure washer features premium 10 in. pneumatic wheels so you can take it to the jobsite. The 2400 PSI Cold Water Pressure Washer is backed by a 3 Year Limited Warranty.

1. Power through a variety of cleaning tasks with a 2400 max psi and 1.1 gpm

1. Stay organized with on-board nozzle, hose, cord, and wand storage

1. Clean with detergent by using integrated soap tank

1. Withstand heavy duty usage with 25 ft. kink resistant hose

1. Wide outlet range with 35 ft. power cord

1. Includes: (1) DWPW2400 Pressure Washer, (1) Turbo Nozzle, (1) 15° Nozzle, (1) 25° Nozzle, (1) 40° Nozzle, (1) Soap Nozzle, (1) Wand & (1) Hose

 

A Couple of New THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY Portaits

 

Khun Apple, with head bandana, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok , Thailand 2025

Khun Ann, lost in thought, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY,  Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

More, More, New Edits

Some new ones, from tonight, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY. Added 5 new images from these new edits to the Social Documentary Power Point presentation.

Man with one eye, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

Khun Yao 75, watches me, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

More New Edits

Some more new edits of THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY work.

    Young girl with father, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

Khun Prem, smiling, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

Khun Prem, thinking, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY,  Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

Khun Dao, with hand raised, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

Khun Apple, confused, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY, Khlong Toei Slum, Bangkok, Thailand 2025

Link: Photogravure Anyone?

Went to a printmaking cooperative type shop here in Edmonton today, called SNAP. Met a friend there who showed me the building then made some Photogravure prints, lovely stuff.

Also spoke to the several nice staff people and a man doing Silk Screen. 

Thinking of learning Silkscreen at SNAP maybe Photogravure.

Note* My friend Jim even gifted me a print, which I got him to sign. Very nice of him!!!

Note** Thank you everyone at SNAP as well.

https://snapartists.com/ 

Photogravure print and printing plate

Print by Jim Gaa