(S)Light of Hand

The Photographer’s Eye Gallery in Escondido will host an exhibit by two exceptional artists, Diana Bloomfield and Debra Achen, award winners in the gallery’s 2023 (S)Light of Hand Alternative Process Juried Exhibition.

Bloomfield, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was honored by juror Ann Jastrab, Executive Director of the Center for Photographic Arts in Carmel, California, for her floral print, “Hydrangea,” a tricolor gum over cyanotype print.

Achen, of Monterey, California, was honored by The Photographer’s Eye Director Donna Cosentino for “Shoring Up,” a folded and stitched pigment print that references climate change.

Bloomfield specializes in 19th century printing techniques, with a concentration on gum bichromate, platinum and cyanotype processes. Her photographic vision springs from the world of memories, and her images carry the flavor of waking up and trying to recall a dream.

Her work, she says, “is more about holding onto memories, which are always fugitive and ever shifting, and I wanted to get them down on paper.”

Her printing process entails creating transparencies from a digital image, then exposing them on contact paper multiple times using ultraviolet light. “It’s a nice blending of 19th and 21st century technologies,” Bloomfield says.

Achen, who loves nature and landscape photography, recently applied her art to address climate change. After shooting her images, Achen folds, rips, scorches, and even stitches the prints, creating works of art that evoke a planet in crisis.

“I started noticing when I was out shooting in the field that I would find myself thinking about what’s this landscape going to be like, how much of this forest is going to be left for the next generations,” Achen says. “I was feeling like I’m documenting this for future generations, and that’s a sad thing.”

The artists will discuss their processes and inspirations at an artists’ talk at The Grand, 321 E. Grand Ave., across the street from the gallery, at 3 p.m. on March 9. That will be followed by a reception at The Photographer’s Eye, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Photographer's Eye is a nonprofit.

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