Sewing!

 I'm lovin' my new tote bag. It has a pocket, for your mobile, or wallet or to hang your glasses. Way cool!

Kids' Stuff

For these prints, I went back to cutting the designs from plastic sheets and printing from a template. It meant my screen was available for multiple prints and I could work faster.
I'm getting better at using the photo emulsion tactic, but it's rather time consuming! 

I will be using these prints for a variety of kids' related objects such as aprons, decorative pillows, and stuffies.

Summer Market Announcement!

This summer I'm bringing You & Mia to the streets of Vancouver!  So exciting.

In July and September I'll be selling my latest and greatest items at the Blim Monthly Markets (more info to come). There will be t-shirts with bikes, new children's aprons, pencil cases with Vespas, pillow cases with hippos, and hopefully some great tote bags for your groceries and other items that need to be carried around.

The Blim  Market is a great opportunity to see all the creative talents of local crafts people and enjoy a day of outdoors shopping. Hopefully the sun is shining.

Tribal Textiles in Zambia

I recently returned from Zambia. While there, I took the opportunity to visit Tribal Textiles, near Mfuwe.
Driving along a bumpy country road lined with trees, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there is a signpost for Tribal Textiles. Turning off the main road, you are greeted by white-washed buildings, lush greenery overhanging wooden benches and stone courtyards. The air is cool and fresh under the shade. We stretched our legs, cramped from the long road-trip and walked through the shop and workshops.

Colors pop off of pillow cases and aprons. Bold geometric shapes and traditional patterns cover everything from bedsheets and curtains, to table runners and other home accessories. Everything is made with 100% cotton, designed and painted individually. I first thought the designs were created using Batik, like in Indonesia. But the designs are made using a starch paste that is sun-dried and then hand-painted. Baking the fabric makes it durable in countless washes. We arrived during the mid-day meal break so we missed out seeing the process, but there's a great little video (by Will Benson) that explains the How To part.

Enjoy!

Mama Olifant

Here's the elephant pillow I designed for Mother's Day. I was a wee bit late and only printed it the day before so it wasn't much use to my mom, or any other moms for that matter. Happily, it has been pointed out to me that it can also work quite well as a Baby Shower gift  (which can happen at all times of the year)! 

In short, the back is made up of an elephant stencil I cut out, while the front is screen printed using screen filler. I'm enjoying sewing pillow cases as they look very complete and finished at the end, and in reality it's just a bunch of straight lines! Print, print, zoom, zoom, cut here, cut there, and you're done! Voila!

Just for the fun of it, here are some of my other favorite elephants:

and to pull on the heart strings, here's a scene from Dumbo:

 Now, go call your mom and let her know how much you love her.

Painting

I find screen printing to be very controlled and with the final outcome to be the result of much thinking, preparation and planning. To shake things up I enjoy painting. So far, my painting extravaganzas have been limited to throwing painting on a canvas. The bigger the better with some of the paintings being 6x3 feet. There's no plan. There's no initial idea. I don't sketch anything and definitely don't aim to create anything visibly recognizable, i.e. a person, a house, a tree. I just choose a color I like. I quite enjoy adding that first dash of color on a blank canvas. It's similar to when you first lift the silk screen after pulling the paint through the stencil. "Aah, look how it has changed, there's a mark now! How fun!" This little initial mark of paint creates an energy or perhaps more accurately, a stepping stone for the next mark. Should the next blob of paint be close or far away? Do they connect or is it all separate? It's like a dance. And soon enough the canvas is full and I have no more paint in the bucket, but plenty on my apron!

Printing, printing, printing

So, to celebrate that the Vespa has been brought out from its winter storage I thought it was an appropriate image to try out stencil printing. Also, I needed to get away from my regular screen printing extravaganza.

There’s something fantastic about printing which I believe comes down to all those tedious steps I so criticize. You start at one point, presumably with an idea. Then, perhaps you sketch it on a pad of paper, and with that it changes. Your idea becomes a reality and the lines aren’t quite what you had imagined but a version of them. You correct, amend and finalize the sketch to your liking. Again, it has changed. In the case of stencil printing, you would then cut out the design from card stock or, as in the images here, from a plastic sheet. Again, the design changes as the exact-o knife slips or your hand wobbles. 

By the time you add paint, fill out the empty space and lift the plastic to reveal the final print your idea has morphed into a beautiful creation. It is somehow removed from you personally, making it easier to look at it objectively. 

For me, because I am my own worst critic and I’m exceedingly hard on myself, I enjoy printing, in whichever form, because of this objective view. The final creation is a version of my original idea but I like it even more!

ABC's of Biking Tuning

It's Spring, which means Summer comes afterwuuuurds and that means beach, bikini, longer days and shorter pants (also known as shorts). Perhaps you've been cooped up inside all winter and if you think the gym is an unmentionable institution of the modern world, then go biking outside. But, besides the exercise benefits, do you really need an excuse to bike? I really can't say anything negative about biking. I love it. So, for practical purposes I'm posting this How Tuesday video from Etsy because I realize not everyone knows how to tune their own bike (me included, ahem) and having a bike with functional breaks is a good thing in my book!

Show & Tell again

Here's a new video showing how to reclaim your silk screen frames. You can read about screen printing and the various methods other people use, but sometimes I find I learn the best tips from watching videos. It's the little things that make the process easier and more efficient. For example, you can use pushpins on the corners of the frame to ensure the screen doesn't touch the surface when you're drying your emulsion-covered frame. Or, you can put a Pony Clamp at the edge of your frame to rest it between prints. This, and many other things I learned by watching people's videos. So, I of course hope that you also learn something from my Show & Tell videos.

Show & Tell

Less thinking, more doing!

I'm currently completing a Certificate in 3D Design at the wonderfully inspiring Emily Carr University of Art & Design.The school is situated on Granville Island, which is not an island at all, but a peninsula, filled with artisan's stores, art galleries, a public market with locally grown veggies, terrific restaurants and basically everything and anything one could need to fill a whole day of "touristy" activities. I believe Granville Island is a good example of what the architect, Matthew Frederick calls "Denial and Reward" in which the built environment presents the user (that's you) "a view of their target - a staircase, building entrance, monument or other element - then momentarily screen it from view as they continue their approach. Reveal the target a second time from a different angle or with a interesting new detail. Divert users onto an unexpected path to create additional intrigue or even momentary lostness; then reward them with other interesting experiences or other views of their target."  Granville Island is very much like this, creating a playful place to wander and discover no matter what your age.

But I digress...I was writing about art school.

The building complex of Emily Carr University of Art & Design is built by Patkau Architects. Concrete, glass, and metal come together to create a great space to work and be creative in. There's a bit of the "Denial and Reward" concept in the building's design. Hallways lead to balconies overlooking open spaces. From the library you can see the South building. Interior windows gives you a view into workshops and tool sheds down below.  The main entrance gallery space is constantly changing, keeping you engaged every time you enter the school.  My current class, "The Business of Art Practice" lead by Chris Tyrell was the push I needed to get a blog started and actually produce, not just think. As inspiring as the Emily Carr building may be, thinking can only get you so far. For months I've been thinking, conspiring, pondering, wondering, dreaming...

Snap out of it: Less thinking, more doing! Who would've thought less thinking was a good thing?

The class, in a nutshell, is about how to turn your art into your career.  And who better to teach this than Chris Tyrell? Author of Artist Survival Skills and the upcoming Making It, Chris knows what he's talking about. (On a side note, Chris is about to embark on a walk from Paris to Montpellier. Yes, that's right, he's walking the entire way.  Talk about less thinking, more doing! To read more about this fantastic adventure, go here). So, as I was saying, of course not all 25 students will have the same life goals but Chris manages to weave in and out of topics that pertain to us all. Everything is covered, from taxes to entering galleries, to writing grants and applying to artists' residencies. Marketing, promotion, artists' health, insurance, sales, financial growth (or lack there of), it's all covered. After just the second class I got my groove in gear. There was no Step 1, Step 2 type of procedure but I felt that I could sit still no longer. I bought 20m of "shoe canvas", 160m twill tape, new needles, 3 new large frames, paint, a large squeegee, a bucket of emulsion and a great pair of fabric scissors. 

My plan was to make aprons. Many aprons. Mass-production. And by "mass" I mean a whopping seventy-six aprons! That's a lot considering the most I've ever made is five. I like the idea of aprons because it's a tool. I mean, who wears an apron unless it's because you're cooking or crafting or painting, etc? So, it kept in line with my "functional" design concept.
Will I succeed and turn my art into my career? Well, first I need to stop giggling when I say "my art". People make a living doing the strangest things, so why not screen printing on aprons? At this point, whether I succeed or not is secondary as I have already succeeded at one thing: I am giving it a shot. I jumped right into all of it and so far it's been great fun. If the world revolved around me, which, much to my dismay I discovered a few years ago that it does not, but if it did, then I would screen print aprons and pillows for babies and their parents, messenger bags and totes for bikers and tea cozies for grandmas and other wonderful creations and I would be content with "my art".

Cheating on the prints

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: screen printing is all about the preparation. You prepare steps 1 through to Almost Ready and the finally you get to pull the paint over the screen (so exciting) and lift the frame to reveal your...masterpiece? Too often I have lifted only to be disappointed that the paint didn't go through everywhere or I entirely missed the corner of the pattern. Great. As I usually print on t-shirts, it's not an entirely cheap loss. Anyways, so there I am, staring at my not-so-great outcome and it occurs to me that it's my design, I can do whatever I want with it. I'm the creator, if I don't like it, I can change it to something I do! 

I have fabric markers, fabric spray paint and 3D fabric paint that I can add to the original print. Sometimes it just makes things worse, which leads me to add more colors, more paint, more cover-up. Gah! In the end it looks like some hodge podge mix, like a Versace shirt gone bad. Real bad. At some point I have to give in and accept that long gone are any chances of saving the design but at least I tried.

 This print was one of the very early ones. Two kayaks on the water, as seen from perhaps Jericho Beach. The sky is a result of spray paint, so it bled onto the mountains. Then, I added waves or ripples on the water using a fabric marker. The kayakers are also done with marker. I should probably have stopped right before I started outlining the mountains, but the owner of the t-shirt loves it, and still wears it after 5 years! I guess it's a good sign that the image is outlasting the actual cotton t-shirt! Perhaps it's time for a revised version?

"Would you like some Tea?"

The Queen

My latest creation! Perhaps I got carried away in the grocery aisle, reading Hello Magazine's endless royal gossip or maybe it's the looming royal wedding. Regardless, of the source, something stuck in my head. It's the Queen and Her Royal Highness rocks!

Into the Wild...really wild

A trip to Kenya got me all into the wild. The one week safari started immediately upon arrival in Nairobi. There was no time to lose. We arrived to the Masai Mara jet-lagged, tired, and feeling achy after 10 hours of driving on Kenyan potholes, I mean roads. Kenya is an amazing country, rich with culture, fantastic wildlife, smiling faces and, potholes. With some common sense, safety precautions and a good guide book, Kenya is a traveler's paradise.

 Most tourists consider it a "goal" to see the Big Five: Lions, Buffalo, Elephant, Rhinos and Leopards. It is a humbling experience and one that is not forgotten. For the purpose of my t-shirt prints I decided on my own Big Five, the Big Four: an elephant, a buffalo, a zebra (no picture) and a giraffe (because where else in nature do you find such great patterns than on a giraffe?).

These prints were made by cutting out a transparency with an exacto knife. I wanted each animal to appear like a stamp, simple edges and visible from afar. Knowing what I know now about screen printing I would like to revisit the Kenya wildlife theme. I am certain that I can do the giraffe more justice, taking advantage of the aforementioned fantastic natural patterns on its body.

We're bombarded with images, colors, information all day, every day. Non stop. Sometimes I feel the only way to get anything done, I mean really done, is to take the leap and settle on something, anything. It's the only way to avoid rambling on and on, getting lost on the internet, losing countless hours trolling through magazines, city streets, and (insert source of inspiration here) to eventually end up with something equally good as the first image I saw. 

Marimekko. Need I say more? I love the colors. I love the patterns. I love the photos on the site. I love that their products can be spotted a mile away and you just know it's from Marimekko.

Throughout the entire process of my apron production, I was thinking of Marimekko. I wanted large, colorful patterns on an item you can actually use. For the color scheme I came across a colorful little "catchall" in the April issue of Dwell magazine. Again, it was from the infamous Finnish textile giant.

 I set out, with the best intentions, a "look" but the final result of my productivity becomes something organic, somehow changed, improved, (one can only hope) and morphed into something new and slightly off center from where I had originally aimed to be.

Love / Hate

I have a strange love/hate relationship with printing. With creative activities I like big arm movements, bold colors, and if I can use a hammer, well that's super cool. I'm not much into pencil shading, origami or water color. I like it when other people create water color paintings and form intricate delicate swans, but for me personally I am just left frustrated. I'm thinking that big arm movements don't well with origami.  So, in a similar situation with screen printing I'm fighting and arguing with myself throughout the entire prep time. Prepare the stencil. Prepare the drying rack or in my case, clear some closet space. Prepare the screen with emulsion. Wait for it to dry. Mix the paint. Prepare the desk to work on. Prepare the fabric. Prepare, prepare, prepare. When does the FUN start? Gah! So when I've finally got all my ducks in a line, or a row, or whatever formation is needed, the design I've thought of had better be something I'm happy with. I don't use Illustrator or Photoshop or a printer. I sketch and hand cut all my designs which takes time. But once I get going and I lift up the screen for the initial reveal, well, I've already forgotten all the aches and pains of Prep Time and I love printing all over again!

Stretching new fabric on the frame

Covering the screen with photo sensitive emulsion

Frames drying in a dark closet over night

Burning the image onto the frame using a regular household light bulb. This takes about 1.5 hours.

Rinsing out the emulsion. The areas covered with the stencil wash away, allowing paint to go through the frame. All other areas are covered and sealed with the emulsion.

I heart my dog

To this day, I haven't been able to find a t-shirt with an image of a dog I actually like. I see loads of logo-looking images, cheesy silhouettes or designs put together with prefab images and font. So, a few years ago I set out to make a t-shirt with a dog that I liked. As usual, I had great plans for these t-shirts. I was going to revolutionize fashion for dog lovers all around! I figured I'd sell them wholesale in pet stores and dog lovers would come running from all parks and beaches (where else would dog lovers be?) in order to get one of my fantastic dog designs. But alas, one thing lead to another and I forgot about it, other things filled my schedule and suddenly I just plain forgot about it.



I still haven't seen another cool dog t-shirt I really liked. But for now, the prints remain another item on my To Do list and the template is in the folder marked "Develop".