We are grateful to Samuel Vovsi, John Stritzinger and Dutch Bagley for collecting, organizing, formatting, presenting and setting to music the exhibition.
The show was the subject of a “Phillips’ Mill ArtTalk,” hosted by Laura Womack, on April 11, 2021. View Here.
A Message from Spencer Saunders, Chairman, Phillips’ Mill Photo
April 2022 is an important opportunity for us to show the strength and breadth of our photographic community after a three-year hiatus of images on the Mill’s walls. COVID forced us all to rethink our commitments, engagements and non-Zoom involvement. Please put the pre-show dates on your calendar and come to the meetings at the Mill. We need and enjoy your involvement and look forward to producing the best show yet with you. We have some innovative programming ideas, and there are small tasks with which everyone can help.
Thank you to all those who enjoyed our private viewing of the Mill’s impressive annual Fall Art Show. Most had not experienced the range of work (paintings, drawings, sculpture and mixed media) displayed over the past 91 years. To me, the Mill is at its best with powerful, thought-provoking works on the wall. Phillips’ Mill Photo has undeniably ridden the coattails of prestige, quality and success built by generations of dedicated Mill volunteers. Our thanks go out to them for facilitating our gathering.
“Prints On the Wall” – Phillips’ Mill Photo 2022
The Phillips’ Mill Photo Committee has announced the following regarding the upcoming show:
- Digital submissions only, due to lingering unknowns regarding COVID. A one-juror system will be retained, which was used last year.
- A three-week juried show will be followed by a one-week members/volunteers show.
- The Phillips’ Mill marketing agency, Ananta Creative Group, will transfer and integrate our program and bundle our advertising as part of the Mill’s overall strategic marketing plan, for greater exposure.
Important Dates
- Juried Show
2022 Phillips’ Mill Photo Exhibition Juror Announced: December 2021
Image Drop-Off for 2022 Phillips’ Mill Photo Exhibition: Friday, March 25, 2022, 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 26, 2022, 2 to 5 p.m.
Hanging of 2022 Phillips’ Mill Photo Exhibition: Week of March 27, 2022
Opening Reception 2022 Juried Photo Exhibition: Saturday, April 2, 2022, 4 p.m.
2022 Phillips’ Mill Photo Exhibition: April 2–22, 2022
Mill Members Meet & Greet: Friday, April 15, 2022, 6 p.m.
Print Pickup: Friday, April 22, 2022, 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, April 23, 2022, 9 to 10 a.m.
- Members/Volunteers Show
Hanging of Members/Volunteers Show: Saturday, April 23, 2022, 9 a.m.
Phillips’ Mill Members/Volunteers Show: April 23–30, 2022
Phillips’ Mill Members/Volunteers Show Closing Party: Saturday, April 30, 2022, Time TBD
Member News and Notes
Philip “Dutch” Bagley
Phil had a photo selected for the juried “UPSHOT” show at the Up Arts Incubator gallery in Lansdale, which ran from June 18–July 30.
https://www.upartsincubator.com/proofing/upshot-photography-exhibition/gallery
Two of Phil’s prints were accepted for the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s juried
Another of Phil’s images won third place in the black-and-white category of the 2021 Paper Arts Collective International Collective and Exhibition.
https://paperarts.substack.com/p/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2021-ff3
Maria Dreyer
Maria’s work was included in the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s juried“Transformations” exhibit, held online and at the New Hope Arts Center from August 13–September 6.
Maria also had several photographs accepted in the second annual “Creep Up” Halloween-themed show at the Up Arts Incubator in Lansdale, which ran from October 1–November 5.
https://www.upartsincubator.com/proofing/2nd-annual-creep-up/gallery
Marty Golin
Marty had a photograph in the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s juried “Transformations” exhibit, which took place both online and at the New Hope Arts Center from August 13–September 6.
Suzan S. L. Gottshall
Suzan displayed a print in the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s juried “Transformations” exhibit, which took place both online and at the New Hope Arts Center from August 13–September 6.
Peter Hewitt
Peter had several photos included in the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s juried “Transformations” exhibit, held online and at the New Hope Arts Center from August 13–September 6.
Sharlene Holliday
Sharlene had a photo selected for the juried “UPSHOT” show at the Up Arts Incubator gallery in Lansdale, on view from June 18–July 30.
https://www.upartsincubator.com/proofing/upshot-photography-exhibition/gallery
Sharlene also had work included in the “Ellarslie Open 37/38,” which took place June 26–October 3 at the Trenton City Museum/Ellarslie.
https://ellarslie.org/exhibits/ellarslie-open-37-38-virtual-exhibition
Her work appeared in the Pennsylvania Center for Photography’s juried “Transformations” exhibit, held online and at the New Hope Arts Center from August 13–September 6.
Two of her photos were accepted in the second annual “Creep Up” Halloween-themed show that was on view from October 1–November 5, at the Up Arts Incubator in Lansdale.
https://www.upartsincubator.com/proofing/2nd-annual-creep-up/gallery
For the first time, Sharlene entered a cyanotype in a juried show, and it was accepted for the Up Arts Incubator’s “Locally Grown” exhibit, August 6–September 18.
https://www.upartsincubator.com/proofing/locally-grown/gallery
One of Sharlene’s photos was selected as the image of the day in the “Your Daily Photograph” online gallery.
https://shop.yourdailyphotograph.com/search?q=holliday&type=product
Another of Sharlene’s images was on view at the Southeast Center for Photography in Greenville, S.C., for an exhibit called “World in Motion,” for the month of October.
https://www.sec4p.com/the-world-in-motion-online-exhibition
Sharlene was one of the winners of the Smart Phone Contest, published in Black & White Magazine’s December 2021, issue No. 149.
https://www.bandwmag.com/back-issues/bw-no-149
She also had a photo accepted in The Photo Review’s 2021 Competition Web Gallery (website not currently available).
An essay by Sharlene can be found below. This is just one of many essays our members composed about their work in 2021.
Member Essay
“My Journey into the Blues” by Sharlene Holliday
My exploration of the cyanotype process started during the COVID-19 quarantine. There was no place to go; lockdown was a perfect time to begin a new journey, and so it began. A spare bedroom became a makeshift darkroom for mixing chemicals and paper prep, and my backyard was a safe place to expose and develop images.
This very slow, tactile experience was a calming escape from pandemic anxiety and was the perfect creative outlet. A brief cyanotype history: Cyanotype is one of the earliest photographic processes, invented in the mid-1800s by Sir John Herschel, originally used to reproduce “blueprints.”
Shortly after, it was Anna Atkins, an illustrator and botanist, who documented plant specimens with this process. She’s been called the first woman photographer, and her book, “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions,” is considered the first photographically illustrated book.
For the cyanotype process, paper is coated with two chemicals (ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide) that make it photosensitive. After the paper dries, objects are placed onto the paper and left in the sun (ultraviolet light) for the development process. Last, the print is rinsed in water to fix. The image appears as a white negative on a blue (cyan) background.
If you are familiar with the analog film/wet darkroom process, it was always the image development that was the exciting part. Cyanotype is no different. It’s like magic as you wash your print and see it come alive right before your eyes.
Of the images shown here, “Scarborough Fair” was created using grocery store herbs. It is an example of a traditional cyanotype producing a dark Prussian blue. Working with the delightful fragrance of these herbs, I purposely composed the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme in that order, as it was my intention to scan the original cyanotype into Photoshop and create a digital triptych.
“Gimme Shelter” is an example of a wet cyanotype. It was created from decaying Hosta leaves. After carefully composing onto my photosensitive paper, I sprayed the paper and leaves with vinegar and a dash of paprika and salt. I covered the piece in plastic to give it some texture and placed it outside, exposing it for three hours in the winter sun. My vision for this piece was that the larger leaf was protecting the smaller leaf: “sheltering in place” as we all were at the time (11/4/2020).
I am by no means an expert in cyanotype. I am still learning, experimenting and having fun. The process is both simple and complex, exciting and frustrating, and the results are unexpected and unpredictable. There is much trial and error every step of the way, but your final product is a unique piece of art.
My silver lining to the pandemic was discovering “cyanotype.” Turns out this process is a very therapeutic, rewarding and addictive hobby.
