This Thursday we’re kicking off our first week of Mixtape Month with a photo walk with Tim LaDuke. Remember to bring a digital / film / video camera (and a jacket). Meet at the Arts Council at 3:30 for some learning and at 4:00 we’ll head out. The session will finish at 6:00. Questions? Contact us via the email or number to the right!
There’s a moment in the printing process that’s always a little magical. Sappy, but true. It happens after exposing your design when the screen is being washed out. At first there’s a subtle difference in the color of emulsion that’s been exposed from the stuff under your artwork but as you start to run water over it the un-cured emulsion starts to wash away and, like magic (or chemistry), one drawing is turned into a tool to produce 10,000. It’s like a visual loudspeaker imbuing you with permission to say whatever you want.
This past week our crew finally got a chance to push ink through mesh and it was awesome to see their styles come through in their finished prints. Totally encouraging. As with anything, you’re going to make a lot of mistakes in order to figure out what works but eventually find your voice, and this group is going to sing! We all got the chance to print a run of 15-25 posters; here’s Fredy and Brenna pulling theirs.
After a couple monochromatic prints we decided to spice it up. Justin (our resident master of mark making) put brushed some orange on top of an empty screen; over that we pulled a steely black. Normally I’m not one for skulls, but the medium / message seemed to work and the result was, dare I say, epic. This experimenting amped us up for this upcoming Thursday when we’ll push it even.
Josh used the opportunity to honor two great lands shaped like a hand. He was born in Cali and moved to Michigan after experiencing the slice of heaven we know as “winter.” As you can see from the length of his beard he’s prepping for it now. I think that’s why northerner’s invented No-Shave-November.
Brenna brought her bird into the space. It has an affection for gibberish, popcorn and fingernails.
Below are some shots of our first run. More pics coming soon.
For the past three weeks we’ve been blazing through a workshop on the basics of screen printing. This past session we got our hands dirty going through the process start to finish in preparation to print our posters this Thursday. Below are some pics from our workshop paired with an explanation of the process in case you need a refresher.
First off, here’s a shot of Cady and I coating screens. The scoop coater (the magical piece of golden metal in the picture below) is used to apply an even coat of light sensitive emulsion to a screen.
Once the emulsion has dried evenly you place your artwork (in the form of a film positive) over top and expose it to light. But before we get too ahead of ourselves we’ve gotta make sure the film positive is ready. Below students use Sharpie paint pens to trace their artwork onto acetate (a clear sheet of plastic).
Once the artwork is done we register where they want it to print on the paper and adhere it to the emulsion coated screen. You can either use clear tape or a super light misting of spray adhesive. As you can see below, the artwork on the film positive (black drawings in the middle of the pink screen) is super opaque so no light can get through to the emulsion beneath.
Once your film positive is placed appropriately on the screen you “burn” the image using either a machine seen below or a variety of other UV sources. The opaque artwork keeps the uv rays from reacting with the emulsion underneath leaving those areas uncured. After 12-15 minutes (this time varies pending on your light source) you remove your artwork and wash out the unexposed emulsion using water.
Here’s Brenna showing us her original film positive and its production-ready-counterpart.
Now we’re in the home stretch. Below, René uses a light table to check for pin-holes, little holes in the emulsion that washed out in the spray booth. Once they’re eliminated you can sleep easy knowing ink won’t print where it’s not supposed to.
What a good looking bunch, huh? After two hours of controlled chaos we had eight screens ready for small run production heaven. Everybody’s artwork transferred well and I’m pumped for this Thursday when we print them up and bask in the power of tight mesh, emulsion, light, squeegees and ink.
Thursday’s are without a doubt my favorite day of the week. The reason? The Collective. It’s like Christmas once a week. During our session last week we got experimental with Sharpie Paint Pens and some acetate strips. This week we printed them (three color mixed fount and everything) to see how emulsion reacts with different marks. Totally impressed! Here Brenna checks the screen to make sure ink only goes where it’s supposed to.
Although the whole bit was a means to explore mark making and the exposure process the final product turned out quite nice.
Get psyched for next week: we’ll be finalizing our designs, making a film positive and talking emulsion and exposure.
Over the next four weeks at The Collective we’ll be getting our hands dirty screen printing some posters. Originally purposed for mass produced imaging; in the 1930’s a small group of artists formed the National Serigraphic Society to “differentiate the artistic application of screen printing from the industrial use of the process.” Over the course of the medium’s history no one had popularized it more than Andy Warhol in the 1960’s when he used the process to make hundreds of sculptures mirroring supermarket product packages.
The video above is the first of 12 segments from PBS’s American Masters exploring Warhol and the forces that helped make and break him. We’ve posted about E.F. Schumacher before and I’m going to reiterate it here in hopes that it frames this viewing. Schumacher said that decisions (whether for national economic interests or personal) should be made based on three criteria: health, beauty, and permanence. As you watch this film and contemplate the culture that shaped (and was shaped by) the Silver Factor; what was healthy, beautiful, and permanent? Are there cases where its residence had to choose one over the others? And finally, where did you see the redemption of things that were once destructive, ugly and temporal?
Note: I give this video a PG-13 rating for drug and sexual references.
Consider it felt. Last weekend we packed up an assortment of tees and tools and trekked over to print on location at Zeeland’s first ever Global-Local Waterfest. It was spearheaded by our good friend Dennis (sporting the mohawk below) in an effort to raise awareness of an astonishing fact: if every man woman and child in America donated $30 we’d raise the funds necessary to provide clean water infrastructure to the developing world. Yup…just $30 per person. It seems pretty measly compared to the $3,800 you’ve contributed to the war in Iraq and even more ridiculous when you compare it to your share of the national debt ($38,550.12).
The weather was immaculate, and considering it’s September in Michigan I’d say that makes the day a success. The main stage schedule was filled with alternating bands and speakers throughout the day which made it go by pretty quickly. We were lucky enough to need power thus placing us near stage.
Band highlights: Big Dudee Roo and the Raptors (whistling drummer meets folksy Bright Eyes-esque vocals) and Paucity (instrumental melodious god-sends). If you haven’t seen these guys in person you need to get to one of their shows quickly.
Other highlights: Printing tees and raising coin ($5 per shirt) for clean water initiatives. Five bucks could maybe (and I stress maybe) rent you a DVD from Blockbuster. Or, it could go towards clean water and multiply in the process. A 2005 World Health Organization cost-benefit analysis showed that every $1 invested in improved drinking water and sanitation can yield economic benefits of $4 to $34, depending on the region. Not even Bernie Madoff gets that kind of return.
Here’s a shot of Fredy getting ready to print while Sebastian gets wrapped up in Paucity. Fredy (with one “d”) is made of gold. He graduated last year and is now a freshmen learning the ropes at Kendall. Next time you see him ask him about monkeys.
Here’s Amy and Jenna folding some propaganda. Not only are they beautiful, but they’re also kind, wise and creative. I’m lucky enough to be married to one of them (Jenna), whom deserves ceaseless thanks for her support, insight and uncanny ability to plan.
Lastly, Josh, whom holds up our little screen-printing world in his hands. Occasionally we’d run out of power and he’d hook up his recumbent bike to a generator in order to trade some sweat for t-shirt curing heat. Not really, but he did rig an ingenious light to at least let us know when the oven wasn’t working.
Photo Creds: Slim Shady & Katie Joy
We were recently nominated for Nau’s $10,000 Grant For Change. This is super exciting and could be a massive help in our attempt grow a sustainable space for young adults to explore a creative and profitable life in the applied arts.
For the next couple of weeks they are taking votes and at the end of August they’ll narrow it down to five public winners and five staff picks. We want to be one of them, but we need your help. Head over to Nau and give us an honest rating. We appreciate your support!
*Downer: you’ll have to register in order to vote. Although this is lame it also makes sense on their end. Plus, if you’re like me it’s always fun to get stuff in your inbox…especially when you’re feelin’ extra lonely. :)
