Mother-son duo fuse handmade paper, photography at Gallery 200 exhibit
Mother-and-son duo Cheryl and Matthew Mahowald exhibit their photographs of the outdoors using variations of science and mathematics to put a twist on the artistic outcomes. Although the results are remarkably different, they have brought their works together in “Interpretations: A Fusion of Handmade Paper and Photography” on exhibit at Gallery 200, 200 Main St. in West Chicago, throughout the month of April.
Cheryl is known for her work as a handmade paper artist and has exhibited previously at Gallery 200 both independently and as part of a hand bookbinding guild. What makes this exhibit different is the use of photography and her application to the handmade papers.
She begins by creating the paper made from a fiber called Gampi from the Philippines. It comes in dried strips, which she cooks, then beats and forms into sheets of paper. She then uses a photo transfer process to “print” the photos onto the paper.
Cheryl admits that she enjoys photography, particularly close-ups of nature which are often taken in her own yard. She copies the photos onto paper using a toner based system, such as found with a copier, as opposed to a laser printer. Turning the copy print-side-down onto the handmade paper, she uses the Citrasolv cleaner to create a chemical reaction that releases the toner onto the paper.
The result is a soft, blurry image like an impressionist painting, particularly on the handmade paper. “If I like the focal point of an image, I can choose not to transfer the background,” said Cheryl. She then uses colored pencil, pastels or fine line ink markers to enhance the final image.
Said Cheryl, “This exhibit is completely different than previous ones because it incorporates photography. The images are smaller and more realistic as opposed to large abstracts with the focus on the image and not on the paper.”
Matthew's interpretation of landscapes involves the application of mathematical principles, his field of study in the graduate program at Northwestern University. As a self-taught photographer, his research has included many online resources for his application to panoramic pictures.
The process he prefers to use is called equirectangular projection. The projection maps the surface of a sphere to a flat plane. It is the same concept which creates a flat map of the Earth's globe.
“Imagine standing inside of a sphere and cutting out a subsection of that sphere to make it flat. The choice of how you map your subset of a sphere is called a smooth structure,” said Matthew. Based on this principle, there are infinite possibilities to the final image. Depending on which “section” of a sphere is photographed, it will produce a very different picture.
Matthew uses a software program that identifies overlapping key points in images to “stitch” together multiple images and create one panoramic view. For the final image to have the proper perspective, it is important that the series of photographs used to produce the panoramic image be taken by rotating the camera around the no parallax point. This requires the photographer to look through the camera's viewfinder and determine a visual reference for distance between two pre-determined points – one near and one far. The distance between each reference point must remain equal in each photograph or the overlapping images will be difficult to “stitch”.
In order for this process to work, Matthew chooses a scene that remains fairly static for the duration of the photography session. “I try to pick locations that have interesting colors and that have an interesting scene which would be difficult to capture in a normal photograph,” said Matthew.
The number of photographs used to create the panoramic views depends largely on the type of lens used. Matthew prefers to use a fisheye lens with a large field of view to achieve his final perspective on a subject. “I like the fisheye lens because I do not need to take as many pictures. I usually take at least 25 pictures for one 360 degree panorama,” said Matthew.
A free opening reception on Friday, April 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Gallery 200, will include light refreshments and an opportunity to meet the artists and discuss their variations on photography. Their display will include original photography, embellished images on hand made paper and hand crafted books. Matted photographs will also be available for sale. Musician and Local Music Night organizer Mandy Rakow will provide entertainment.
Gallery 200 is a cultural initiative supported by the City of West Chicago and the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission, and is one more reason West Chicago was named an Illinois Arts Friendly Community in 2007. Gallery 200 is open Thursday and Friday from noon to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. For more information, call (630) 293-9550 or visit www.gallery200.org.