crafty goodness

it looks like Amanda Lockrow and I got into the Village Venture Arts & crafts Faire in October!
It's in the suburb of Claremont and gets about 25,000 visitors! we'll be sharing a booth.

Our friends Jen and Rose also got accepted which is exciting for all of us!
more info to follow closer to the event.

Interestingly Art walk at the Brewery in the week after! So i better get crackin' on some new prints and get those pennants I wanted to make happening. I'm pretty excited the Art Walk has been pushed a bit into Nov. hopefully more folks will but x-mas gifts!!!

new prints added to etsy!
plus some oldies and i reworked the sections for a bit more organization.
go check it out!
miriam dema

long weekend

it has been a super long weekend of printing!
let's review for anyone that thinks being an artist is either
a. easy or
b. fast or
c. not bi-polar

friday

tape screen, register screen and paper
print light brown background for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
looks good!

tape screen, register screen and paper
print gradient blue back ground super big for print B. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
oh look, it looks like crap!...grumble, grumble, grumble

tape screen, register screen and paper
print light blue sky color for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
still looking good!

tape screen, register screen and paper
print dark blue sky layer for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
still looking good, go figure! a little weird 'kissing' but not bad

tape screen, register screen and paper
print opaque light blue back ground super big for print C. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
looks great! much better than the gradient of print B.

saturday

work at SSR and work on car in afternoon.
get greasy, wash car
no printing!
go to vintage car show and yummy thai dinner
cut more paper to replace the paper from the crappy gradient print
my shoulder hurts from all printing!

sunday

get up early! start printing before it gets too hot!

tape screen, register paper and screen
print chocolate rocks overlay for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
oooh pretty!

tape screen, register paper and screen
print new opaque blue back ground super big replacement of Print B. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
great color, kinda tiffany blue!

tape screen, register paper and screen
print black telephone wires for print C. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
hmm, not all of it printed. phooey!

tape screen, register paper and screen
print medium brown trunk layer for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
oh good, it covered the rocks where it was supposed to!

hand touch up print C. x 20
ack! it looks awful! realize that the large prints are not going my way this weekend.
WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHY!
deep breath, deside later to overlay other more interesting images to cover the gaffs as the print is sort of boring looking.

take break
eat lunch
stare at the walls wondering if it's now too hot to print?
deside to go for it

tape screen, register paper and screen
print sage green forpalm tree print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
well, at least this print is going well!

tape screen, register paper and screen
try to print palm trees for print B. x 20
um, ink bleeding under tape, craaaaaap!
ink drying in screen while trying to fix
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape

yep, ink dried in the screen.
damn it!
will have to re expose the screen and try some other time.
yes, it was too hot...

take another break and wait for it to cool the fuck down.

tape screen, register print
print black layer of palm tree for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
woohooo! almost done!

tape screen, register print
print final layer of deep orange sun for print A. x 20
wash screen, wash squeegee, remove tape
done!

see! lots of work!

here is the one print that i really finished
i used photographs i have taken around los angeles for the palm and the rocky background.
i made the sun that brilliant red color we only get when something nearby is on fire.

"Los Angeles 2008"

9"x12"
8 layers, edition of 20

print still in progress

print B.
bright blue back ground with telephone wires, 18 at 16x20
will need to figure out what to add to this one to make it pop!
workin' on it...

and

print C.
have the background printed 20 at 16x20
will have to re-expose the screen so that'll happen when it happens...

now if you'll pardon me i think i'm going to fix a stiff drink and find a book to read.

who knew?

sometimes i totally forget how damn much work it is to make large prints!!!

i'm toilling away in the studio this afternoon so nothing new to show just yet but here are some awesome screen print artists i admire who sell their wares on etsy! I'm gonna make this super quick, just a pic, a comment and a link, go check 'em all out!

StrawberryLuna
makes fantastic gig posters!
though i'm partial to this oppsie print that is missing the gig info it was printed for!


Alyoisiuss Spyker
uses bright color and interesting found imagery to create this gorgeous Sunscreen print with great texture!



With Remote
More bright colors ! all super awesome! love the suit and tie! Rock on!


so, that's is for now. i'm just waiting for a 14"x18" field of sky blue to dry on 20 or so prints.
man, was it beastie to print that big. if i'm gonna do more of those i still have some serious kinks to work out in the studio!

oh, and i pulled these images directly off etsy so if the pic isn't showing up they prolly sold the print, yay for them! but follow the link to the shop for more prints!

Busy Bee

Here it is! The Bee Print!
Printed on my brand new paper!
yay new paper!

(does the happy new paper dance :)
I'm really happy with the way this turned out, the colors are a bit deeper than the digital print and that makes me happy!

Look for it at Zinnia's new gallery in Pasadena next month and on my Etsy shop.

Busy Bee's
4 layer screen print
9"x12"

paper, paper, paper!!!

new paper is super exciting!
last week after the paper field trip and test printing i decided to go with a bulk order of 100 sheets (for now) of 23"x34" 80lb cover weight in white solar from epedx. It came in on Friday with some samples of Tag 150lb (still gotta play with that!) this weekend I worked a ton at SSR but I managed to get all four of the upcoming editions cut to size and registered. Large sheets cut down to 40 at 16"x20" and another 40 at 9"x12" with space for registration. Then slowly I got everyone registered and ready to print!
Tonight I printed the first two layers of the Honey Bee print and Holy Sweet Jesus the paper looks awesome!!! The colors are nice and smooth and wonderfully matte just the way I like them.


Here are a few pics of the other most recent print project I was working on. While waiting to figure out which paper I was going to buy I was working on this print on found vintage McCall's magazines. It was particularly difficult to register the paper and print on it because it is so damn fragile. I printed all of them and immediately cut them down to size and promptly bagged them to keep all the edges from tearing apart.

"The Ladies"
11"x14" 3 layers on Vintage McCall's
this is the one I'm going to keep for myself because of that awesome third thought bubble!

Reverse of Print

"The Ladies"
11"x14" 3 layers on Vintage McCall's
this one will be available on Etsy shortly.
quotes from each of the bubbles
'With Chocolate, With Coffee..."
"Once she said thickly..."
"Hammering such stuff into the minds of women..."

reverse of print

new prints on Etsy.

Paper, paper! I need me some paper!
We went on a field trip to a few bulk paper stores yesterday to get some samples to test print on. I really like printing on the bristol I've been using but I would like to invest in a bulk order of something so that I don't have to run off to the store every time I want to print a new edition.
The field trip was very fruitful and tonight I printed some test images and now all I have to do is crunch the numbers to see what I can afford and what works best for screen printing.
woohoo, here's to 500 sheets of giant paper!!!

new prints posted on Etsy! go check 'em out!

Strange Things Happen Here

DDT Owl


Under the Microscope

Hotel Neon

Bottled Liquor

trinkets and baubles!

a little recap from the delightful SoCal Bench Project this weekend!
Thanks to everyone that made it out! It's a great event with lots of promise for growth!
I got to see some great artists I've met before and meet some new folks that make beautiful things!
While selling my own prints I sneaked in some shopping and trades with a few of the other fantastic artists showing. Here's a few from this wonderfully curated show. One of my favorite things to do after these shows is to see all of the websites and shops of the artist's I have met.

My Friend Roze

makes beautiful hand crafted sterling silver jewelry. I was lucky to acquire one of her beautiful necklaces. It looks like the one below only it is all sterling silver and tarnished a deep gray. I have lots of 'fancy' jewelry so it's a pleasure to buy something that is a bit more casual. Although...I also coveted this piece and will have to have it one of these days. Her work fits so comfortable on the body you almost don't know it's there!

oh and she packages her items in these sweet little hand Gocco printed bags, I had to take a picture to share.

sami sue

I picked up this delightful tote from sami sue. It's bright and colorful and perfect for running out to dinner or like last night my swim suit and a book for hanging out at a friends. She makes light summer frocks out of industrial remnants that look so comfortable!

Chocolate and Steel

mmm, chocolate!!! ok, so she doesn't sell chocolate (although I am eating some right now) but she does make these delightful pendants impressed with cute animals and drawings. I love Mr. Owl! He makes me happy because we have owls where I live and they make a lovely hoo hoo hooing sound in the trees! Her packaging is also lovely but umm...I tore it to bits to get at the necklace to wear yesterday ;) i guess you'll just have to get your own to see!


Tresijas

I tried to resist...I looked the other way... I thought it was to silly for me...
but I couldn't resist the mustashe!


Tresijas makes these delightful pendants out of recycled vinyl cut into funny little mustache shapes. At the end of the day (and after a few beers) my inhibitions went to the wayside and I traded a Dahlia print for a mustache necklace...and you know what? Evey single person that saw me wearing it at a party Saturday night giggled like a little kid when I wiggled my eyebrows and held it up to my face. It's silly, it's cute, it's way more fun than I thought it would be!
There aren't any in her shop right now but I'm sure she'll load a few soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Heather Palleiko's

If you haven't seen Heather's Jewelry designs please go check it out!
She makes beautiful organic forms out of sterling silver.
I deeply covey her beautiful shell series pieces! So pretty!


also at the show were Amanda Lockrow and Porterness
and a ton of other awesome vendors!
Whew! thats it for now!

back to the studio :) I'll post the new prints from this weekend tomorrow!

tomorrow!!! event!!!

I'll be selling my prints and wares at this fantastic Artisan Fair tomorrow.

Come check it out if you are in the Culver city area.
The SoCal Bench Project Artisan Fair.
Saturday August 9th 2008
9:30am-3:00pm
Veterans Memorial Complex
Garden Room
4117 Overland Avenue
Culver City CA 90230

Free Parking Free Admission

bees!

digital image of a print in progress.

8"x10" four layers
for a Bee Benefit at Zinnia Gallery

now i just have to expose the screens and print it!