The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The Stark Museum of Art invites families and visitors of all ages to Photography Family Day on Saturday, Nov. 3, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. This event will expose visitors to historic and contemporary photographic processes and techniques. Visitors will also be able to view the newly opened special exhibition National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West. Admission to this event is free of charge.

Attendees will have the opportunity to make their own sun prints and photo collages, as well as create viewfinders. For young visitors, there will be storytelling and families can go on a point-and-shoot scavenger hunt for prizes. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own camera or they can use one supplied by the Museum. Complimentary refreshments will be available.

Visitors of all ages will have a special opportunity to view glass plate photography demonstrations by Galina Kurlat of the Houston Center for Photography at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., noon and 1:00 p.m.

Kurlat, along with assisting artist Theresa Escobedo, will help visitors learn about this historic form of photography and about artists working in the medium today.

Visitors can watch as a photograph is created and processed on glass plates.

This labor-intensive process involves coating a glass plate with collodion then sensitizing it by dipping it into a bath of silver nitrate.

While still wet, the plate is placed in the camera and exposed.

Within a few minutes of exposure the plate must be developed, fixed and dried in order to create the Ambrotype, a positive image on a sheet of glass.

Kurlat and Escobedo will be available throughout Family Day to discuss the photographic process. The Houston Center for Photography, in Houston, Texas, is a non-profit gallery focused on cultivating interest in photography in contemporary culture. Kurlat was born in Moscow in 1981 and emigrated to the United States in 1989. She received her Bachelor of Media Arts Degree from Brooklyn's Pratt Institute in 2005, and she currently lives and works in Houston, Texas. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in public and private collections.

Family Day attendees will be able to visit the newly opened special exhibition National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West. The exhibition explores a collection of iconic Western images gathered by National Geographic over a span of some 125 years. This exhibition was organized by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society and Museums West, presented by The Mays Family Foundation. National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West will be on view through Jan. 26, 2013. Attendees can also participate in an interactive, hands-on Education Area, adjacent to the exhibition.

Jennifer Restauri, Education Intern, welcomes the public, saying, "We are very excited to present a photography focused family day and to provide our visitors with a chance to explore a variety of photographic methods. Visitors will have a rare opportunity to learn more about historic glass plate photography during this program. With such a wide range of activities planned, there will be something for every age." Restauri reminds families that all ages are welcome, but children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Located at 712 Green Avenue, the Stark Museum of Art is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Group tours are available by appointment. For more information, call 886-2787, or visit www.starkmuseum.org.

Pictured is Galina Kurlat, who will give demonstrations of a glass plate photography technique during Photography Family Day.