Posts tagged art school

How are art supply stores near bennington? Would they maybe have pentel brush pens? — Asked by Anonymous

Hello! I am an art student and always find what I need in Bennington. Bennington College itself has an awesome bookstore right on campus! One of the doors to it is pictured above (and yes, that is me in the reflection…) It sells a lot of art supplies, from brushes to photo paper to canvas to plates for etching. At the very least they always have absolutely everything that is needed for the current art classes being taught, but the stock goes beyond that as well. In addition to all of this, there are snacks for long VAPA (our art building) work days, Bennington apparel, free coffee if you bring your own mug, books by current professors, and these adorable little tooth erasers (although I was just told that we are sold out of those now because they went on sale yesterday).

Took this photo above to give you a little idea of what the inside looks like! Also just wanted to point out Sean-Patrick, one of the many friendly and awesome students who work in the bookstore; also wanted to make sure you see his cool brain patterned hat.

As far as getting specific supplies beyond what classes might need, the bookstore is always here to help. If they don’t carry Pentel Brush Pens, there is no reason why you couldn’t ask them to order a few for you. Last term, I was working on a photo project that required a specific type of film (120 Fuji film, to be exact) and they order a bulk amount for me and then put the rest in the bookstore for everyone to purchase. They can get things at a lower price because they are a bookstore and then sell them for a bit less, so it takes some of the cost off of you.

On top of our bookstore, there is also Jay’s Art Shop in town, a great art store that even has a directory you could search through to find supplies. It’s pretty huge and has a lot of different things to offer.

-India K, ‘12

Another dispatch from the darkroom! Like I talked about in a previous post, I am currently enrolled in a photography class called Historical Processes where we are learning methods of photography that date back to the 1800s.  Above is a t-shirt I printed using the method of cyanotypes, invented and discovered  in 1842! I made it by coating the shirt in the cyanotype chemicals (potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate) then putting it under UV rays with the negatives on top. Also did this to a coffee filter and paper towel. They all came out slightly messy but I’m going to try again with a more controlled space to put the chemicals on. This week we are making albumen prints out of albumen coating, which we made out of egg whites and various chemicals. Imagine walking into a darkroom and seeing a group of photo students cracking eggs and separating the yolks out…just another day in Historical Processes! Learn more about alternative processes in photography here! -India K, ‘12

Another dispatch from the darkroom! Like I talked about in a previous post, I am currently enrolled in a photography class called Historical Processes where we are learning methods of photography that date back to the 1800s. 

Above is a t-shirt I printed using the method of cyanotypes, invented and discovered  in 1842! I made it by coating the shirt in the cyanotype chemicals (potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate) then putting it under UV rays with the negatives on top.

Also did this to a coffee filter and paper towel. They all came out slightly messy but I’m going to try again with a more controlled space to put the chemicals on. This week we are making albumen prints out of albumen coating, which we made out of egg whites and various chemicals. Imagine walking into a darkroom and seeing a group of photo students cracking eggs and separating the yolks out…just another day in Historical Processes!

Learn more about alternative processes in photography here!

-India K, ‘12

This term I am enrolled in a photography class called Historical Processes. I have to say, it’s pretty amazing. Basically we are learning and using any process in photography invented between the late 1830s and 1900. If it’s an outdated way of taking, making, or printing a photo, we’re going to look at it in this class.  On the schedule for the term professor Jonathan Kline gave us, we have cyanotypes, paper negatives, calotypes, Vandyke Brown prints and more.  The photo above is of three photogenic drawings I made last Thursday. This was one of the first processes ever discovered in photography by William Henry Fox Talbot. You start with an ordinary piece of paper and make it into a photo by soaking it in silver nitrate to make it light sensitive, then exposing it under light with objects on the paper to create what Fox Talbot called “a drawing”. You can read more about the process here and here. The coolest thing so far in the class has been not only examining these old (practically ancient now in our digital age) ways of making photos but working directly with the chemicals. I have been mixing all my own formulas to work with; never thought I would be dealing with sodium thiosulfate and chemistry equations in a photo class. Learn more about alternative processes on this awesome website.Make photogenic drawings yourself (carefully, silver nitrate burns!) -India K, ‘12 P.S. The syllabus for this class also included a page of nothing but warnings about the chemicals we are using, including and “You will go blind”, and my favorite “If your urine turns pink…”

This term I am enrolled in a photography class called Historical Processes. I have to say, it’s pretty amazing. Basically we are learning and using any process in photography invented between the late 1830s and 1900. If it’s an outdated way of taking, making, or printing a photo, we’re going to look at it in this class. 

On the schedule for the term professor Jonathan Kline gave us, we have cyanotypes, paper negatives, calotypes, Vandyke Brown prints and more. 

The photo above is of three photogenic drawings I made last Thursday. This was one of the first processes ever discovered in photography by William Henry Fox Talbot. You start with an ordinary piece of paper and make it into a photo by soaking it in silver nitrate to make it light sensitive, then exposing it under light with objects on the paper to create what Fox Talbot called “a drawing”. You can read more about the process here and here.

The coolest thing so far in the class has been not only examining these old (practically ancient now in our digital age) ways of making photos but working directly with the chemicals. I have been mixing all my own formulas to work with; never thought I would be dealing with sodium thiosulfate and chemistry equations in a photo class.

Learn more about alternative processes on this awesome website.
Make photogenic drawings yourself (carefully, silver nitrate burns!)

-India K, ‘12

P.S. The syllabus for this class also included a page of nothing but warnings about the chemicals we are using, including and “You will go blind”, and my favorite “If your urine turns pink…”