Screen Print Demo (Part 2)

Last Monday I got to be part of a massive screen printing demo with my Design and Social change class. We were asked to create a design of something that calls for change or action. This could be on any issue we chose. As you can see with my design (albeit not too clearly) I went for the phrase "Heart to Heart". I have always loved being that one person my friends could reach out to in their time of need as well as being a strong believer in having a support system.

This stemmed from not only from being surrounded by friends and family with people who struggle with depression, but also from being an individual who struggles with depression herself. It's tough to reach out when you are struggling with depression. You can feel like talking about what's bothering will either burden others, make them turn away from you (as I have experienced), make them discount your struggle (Ex. "it's only stress" or "it's only a phase"), or that no one cares. It's easy to feel stuck and alone in your struggle, but you would be amazed at how much reaching out helps. It doesn't matter if you are the one struggling or if you have a loved one who is struggling, being there for them and having a "heart to heart" can make a difference. This probably sounds like the obvious thing to do, but it's harder than it seems. Sometimes you just don't know what to say or how to start and that can make the process of reaching out more difficult. However, it's important to know that the first step will be the hardest, as it is full of uncertainty, but you can make that first step easier by slowly easing into the issue (Ex. "how are you?") From there, you can try initiate the "heart to heart".

Now, a little bit about the design. The two gold and blue "double parenthesis" are meant to be the halves of the hearts, coming together as a result of reaching out. The "to" in between the two halves is meant to be the connection between the two hearts. The "to" also has a miniature repeating gold heart pattern going through it and is meant to act as the emotions that flow and connect to help bring individuals together. 

Screen Printing Lecture and Demo

Hello! This week's entry will be on Monday's screen printing lecture and demo by Slingshot and Positive news. Screen printing is the art of creating images via stencil on a mesh screen and pulling ink across it. From graphic t-shirts to bold posters, screen printing has been used for a variety of items and purposes. The purpose of the screen printing for this demo, was to create images that would spur social change.  Both Slingshot and Positive News use screen printing to create their newspapers. The process is tedious, but results from it produce stunning and clear images.
During the lectures from both representatives, I found it interesting that they chose to stuck with a more manual method of printing rather than switch to digital, like everyone else has been doing. Granted both sites have websites and online articles, they still believed in creating something tangible. Much like Taller Tupac Amaru, they keep this older art form alive and well. It was also interesting to see the process of a screen print. Everything is done in layers (if you want more than one color anyway)and even pulling the ink across with the squeegee requires a certain technique. I'm definitely excited to try this next week! But for now...I need to think of what I'm going to sketch for a stencil. Until next time!

Taller Tupac Amaru: Talk

Hello again! The previous post talked about some readings in conjunction with activist group Taller Tupac Amaru, however this post is just to reflect on the presentation given at my school.

Taller Tupac Amaru, as mentioned in the previous post is an activist group that uses art (more specifically screen printing) to not only make a statement, but also to revive the art of printmaking. Each artist went into their backgrounds and why they chose to create the collective. Jesus and Favianna were the two out of the three artists that had an art background, however all of the artists went to UC Berkley for their studies. The only member who did not have an art background was Melanie. She learned her skill sets through her mother's sewing and her father's upcycling. I thought it was interesting that she came from a background that didn't include art school and she still managed to become part of a fascinating collective.

 Many of the political issues that are covered in the artist collective, are issues that tend to hit home with them. All of the artists came from immigrant family backgrounds so issues regarding immigration, tend to be some of the issues that resonate best. They have worked on many other issues regarding wages, safe work environments, and much more. The one thing that I really took away from this presentation was how everyone believed that artists not only had a duty to create art, but to use art to help society as well. Designers take a pledge to use their work to help society and not just use their work for profit, so to hear that pledge come from something other than a document was really enlightening for me.