Category: Experiments

September 25, 2010

tiny, tiny narwhal

A few weeks ago, I received an intriguing email. A pair of college students has plans to travel the world someday, and they want their own travel buddy, a “travelocity gnome” of sorts, that they can photograph in all sorts of exotic locations.

A narwhal would be awesome, they thought, but could it be made smaller?

How much smaller? I asked.

They decided they wanted it highly portable and pocket-sized… the rest was up to my discretion.

So pocket-sized it was.

pocket-sized baby narwhal

baby narwhal

It was really hard to let this little guy go out in the mail. He was really fun, although challenging, to make, and he was just so cute.

baby narwhal made friends with ninja bear

He even made friends with ninja bear!

baby narwhal on the huge couch

And of course I had fun taking pictures of him everywhere.

But, alas, he is meant to travel the world. I can’t keep him away from his dreams!

So thank you, Beth and Tommy, for giving me such a fun project! I’m so glad you like your tiny narwhal friend. Have fun on your adventures!

July 27, 2009

i gocco-ed!

sleepy, drooping eyes
the computer looks so bright
i think it’s bedtime.

gocco whale, all inky

I made my screen, printed about 30 little whales spouting hearts, then spent a good hour or so cleaning the screen! I definitely understand now why everyone hates cleaning the screens so much… no fun, and I made quite a mess. But the printing was so much fun! I’m hooked. (and of course, my first print was a whale.)

I’m always nervous to jump into things like this… especially with about $10 cost per screen, messing up is just so unacceptable! But for today I let myself have this one as a ‘practice’, and luckily it turned out great. They’re all a bit more “spongy” looking than I had expected, but I also made a design with a huge ink blob of printing area. I think in the future I’ll stick to more defined lines.

gocco whale print cards!

I still have ink all over my hands and I’m super tired, so I’ve been rubbing my eyes.. which of course has made them itchier. Wouldn’t be surprised if my eyes are bluer than usual in the morning.
(and of course i’m totally joking – i don’t think i actually got ink in my eyes.)

And my sewing lesson went wonderfully! We both had lots of fun, and she made some cute stuff: a pillowcase and a little zipper pouch. Tomorrow she’s going to work on a tote. I’m excited. I was very, very nervous this morning. And everything was fine. :)

June 6, 2009

screenprinting and such

forget negatives.
slurp, spongelike, from life’s goodness,
a nectar so sweet.

staple gun and screenprinting

Yesterday was just so blatantly gross outside that I needed to rebel against it by making something extraordinarily awesome. Something out of my ordinary, something to say, “ha, sun! i can be creative without you around!”

So I pulled my box of screenprinting goodies off my shelf, wiped the dust from my frame, and began stapling. I ran out of staples halfway through, but after an hour long staple quest and an exasperated lunch break I was back in business.

screenprinted whale - first attempt, on paper My design features a whale (shocking, i know) spouting hearts. The whale will sit at the bottom corner of the tee, with the largest heart ending up at the top center of the tee, not far below the neckline. I did a few test prints today on brown paper and am excited but nervous about printing the real t-shirts, an event that may take place tomorrow morning after church.

Before Christmas I screenprinted 100 shirts, front and back, as commissioned by a friend for his band. My facilities (dorm room and bathroom closet) were not optimal, and with schoolwork and finals approaching, it was nerve wracking, to put it lightly. Somehow I’ve managed to dive back in, and I’m thinking the more relaxed summer atmosphere will make this the enjoyable art I had imagined it to be long ago.

For the band’s screens, since the designs were text-based from the computer, I used the photo emulsion method outlined in the tutorials below. When using a design out of my head, though, I find it easier to draw on paper than on the computer and so I usually use the screen filler method. My dad and grandpa made the screens for me, and for the screen fabric I just picked up some basic silk acetate off the clearance rack.

want to learn to screenprint?
These are a few of the resources I used and found extremely handy.
· Silk Screen Printing Instructions – a copy of the manual that comes with Speedball Printing Kits
· Screen Printing – Cheap, Dirty, and At Home
· How to Silkscreen Posters and Shirts

It’s a great way to produce a lot of something without losing the handmade quality. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to help you out!