Tag: free

  • Meet New ASCB Vendor Aaron Powers of New Antlers Illustration

    Photo__1409

    Thanks to both of my parents, I was born as someone with a compulsion in his blood to visually describe the world to others. There was always a story to tell in a meticulously rendered portrait or a quick accidental brush stroke resembling something familiar.

    IMG_3916
    Playing to my strengths, I was focused by my teachers and honed by my years at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s illustration department. After college and the requisite years that a twenty-something guy spends in a van playing music with his friends, a series of events pointed me towards a job in New York City that evolved over years into a position at a better known apparel catalog as a head fashion photo retoucher/compositor. Though grateful for the experience over those years, there came a point where I realized I needed to spend the majority of my time creating rather than concealing. Although it was mildly rewarding to have a god-like command over reality through Photoshop, it felt unnatural to be largely defined by covering the tracks of others so that it seemed as if no work needed to be done in the first place.

    Highlight of the Life List – 5 1000px
    Every night I would come home and scrub dried up pixels from my hands and try to squeeze a few minutes of drawing in before sleep takes over and the alarm resets the day. So when the corporate belts started tightening and heads needed to roll, I opted for the fresh air of Central Massachusetts so someone else could have my desk instead of an unemployment check.

    IMG_3926
    It’s been an exciting year since then, from teaching myself the craft of screen printing to publicly displaying my work for the first time. The din of a midtown office has been replaced by the sounds of migrating birds and the echoes of my past professors/peers while considering my compositions.

    A Live Edge Inversion 2 1000px
    In addition to my personal work, there have been the opportunities to produce hand-printed gig posters, music packaging, greeting cards, and entire suites of custom wedding invitations as well as the chance to teach youth printing workshops.

    paper cutter copy
    I find inspiration in old friends and new strangers, and in the varying levels of connections we all have with nature, technology and each other. These prints are a blend of vectors and gestures, flora and fauna, and the coping with (and preparing for) equal parts of both happiness and loss. Even though my back is sore and the hours are long, it’s now ink I’m washing off my hands every night and it still feels like I’m getting away with something. Thank you for taking a moment to visit the Art Star blog and I look forward to meeting passers-by at the New Antlers booth #54 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar.

  • Meet New ASCB Vendor sPACYcLOUD!

    spacycloud3sPACYcLOUd was born in DC, from the mind of designer Tatiana Kolina (AKA Tati) with a focus towards the sui generis spirit that lives in all of us. The ethical core of sPACYcLOUd is built on self expression, love, and positivity. Its visual aesthetic breathes from the world of break dancers, hip hop artists, street artists, skaters, and motorcycle riders. Those whose wardrobe exists in a state of counter-culture, carving through life to the rhythm of their own choosing. sPACYcLOUd reflects political and social currents though clothing, artwork, and attitude.

    spacycloud5

    sPACYcLOUd ‘s jackets are made of custom printed fabric using Tati’s and other artists’ art work. From the choice of commonly overlooked fabrics to the colorfully designed prints displayed on each garment, sPACYcLOUd is a social rebellion of creativity. sPACYcLOUd life and street styles are imbued with movement: biking, skating, evolving, but also creative, rebellious, musical and artistic lifestyles.

    spacycloud2

    Leftover jacket fabrics are used for patches on T-Shirts, string bags, hoodies patches, skirts, and other apparel. No fabric is being wasted. Tati is also using a screen printing technique to design her own collection of skateboards and mini cruisers.

    spacycloud1

    Tati’s journey is a testament to her spirit. Born in the Soviet Union, she was without a mother and father after age 7, she grew up with her grandmother, often times taking care of herself. While a teenager, she joined a number of tusovkas (street groups) to survive. The group which affected her life the most was “farsovshiki.” It was a group of kids, the first wave of black marketers in Soviet Union, who ran around big cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Tallinn, etc.) and traded Levi’s jeans, t-shirts, gum, etc. for matreshkas, black caviar, and KGB paraphernalia with American tourists. Doing her best to avoid the attention of undercover militia and the street mafia, Tati spent time in Russian jail several times for possession of foreign currency and talking to foreigners.

    In the Summer of 1990, her life changed dramatically. Meeting an American family in St. Petersburg, she sold them two lacquer boxes with Russian fairy tales depicted on them. Touched, they took her contact information, later sending her an invitation to come to the US. It took some time and convincing before she made one of the biggest decisions of her life.

    In January of 1991, she landed in San Francisco with no money, a tiny backpack, and a present for her new family, a cuckoo clock. More important than the room and board she received was the love and support, that echoes in her spirit to this day. One day Tati was moved to ask her host father, “How can I ever pay back for all you have done for me?” His answer was simple, “You pay back by helping others when you have an opportunity.”

    spacycloud6

    The sPACYcLOUd family has been proud to have organized and participated in a number of events and groups that share a spirit of creativity and alacrity. Always with an eye to the future, sPACYcLOUd moves to involve and inspire the younger generation through surf and snowboarding camps, longboarding rides, internships, and skate events. From celebrating local heroes like Maryland Stunt Rider Alonzo and local DC Skater Angelina to BBoy Atomic Goofball, sPACYcLOUd moves to reflect what’s happening now.

    Tati launched Skate Girls Tribe after being inspired by Skatistan, realizing that skateboarding, and action sports overall, can be used to build communities and help building confidence in girls, free from the limitations society tries to hinder them with.

    —————————————————————————————————————-
    Thank you Tati for sharing your incredible story with us! Shop her collection online here and visit her in booth #50 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza!

  • Meet New ASCB Vendor, S. Casey of Desarc by Susan Casey!

    Desarc1I am so happy to introduce Desarc, and myself to the Art Star Craft Bazaar this year. I’ll be offering jewelry, accent lights, and decorative mirrors for sale. My objective as a designer-maker is to produce useful objects that are attractive, meaningful, and well-made.

    Desarc2I earned my BFA from the Tyler School of Art in 2010, with a concentration in jewelry and metals. The variety of ways I learned to work metal gave me the flexibility to explore object design and craft in many directions. Making functional objects like jewelry gives me a sense of purpose when making creative decisions. I love how jewelry intrinsically deals with concepts of identity. My current line, Resist, is an expression of personal introspection. The balance between the bold and the delicate elements in the collection celebrates feminine strength in an industrial aesthetic.

    Desarc3In addition to jewelry, I have fallen in love with making objects for living spaces. I created the Echoes line of light fixtures (and now mirrors!) years after a summer trip to England where I saw Stonehenge and many other ancient artifacts in London’s museums. Being close to the large monuments, watching the shadow play in and off the slabs of rock, and knowing our ancestors were so compelled to respond to their world, made me feel connected with humanity and craftsmanship in a new way. The Echoes collection is my homage to mankind’s commitment to shape our world like a river though rock.

    Desarc4

    I cannot wait to see you all on Saturday and Sunday to show you more of my work, but until then you can see behind the scenes photos of my progress on Instagram @desarcbysc or on my Facebook page Desarc by Susan Casey. I also have other lines and more photos of these collections on my website: desarc.carbonmade.com.

    Come check me out at booth #69!

  • Make This: Striped Screen Printed Clipboards

    Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

    Sometimes things just needs a little sprucing up. This time of year, when many of us try to focus on spring cleaning and organizing, I find that I need a bit of motivation. Here’s a speedy screen printing method to jazz up old clipboards, but could also be used on other flat office supplies, such as binders, folders, box lids, etc.

    Blog_6_Pic_11

    You will need:

    clipboards
    screen printing frame
    screen printing ink
    spatula or plastic spoon
    squeegee
    packaging or blue tape
    a friend to hold down your screen / or a hinge clamp board

    Blog_6_Pic_1

    Gather your materials. I had a few old clipboards lying around my studio that definitely needed a facelift, but you can always purchase plain ones at Staples or Target. The screen printing frame that I am using is from Blick. It’s pretty amazing what you can do without fancy screen printing equipment. With screen printing, you are masking, or blocking, parts of the open screen to create a stencil. Whatever is “open” will print, whatever is “blocked” – in our case with tape – won’t print. I find that you can create fun geometric designs by simply using tape. If you’re looking for something more complex, try cutting a stencil out of contact paper. Same idea.

    Blog_6_Pic_2

    When you screen print, the screen needs to be directly flush and in contact with whatever you are printing on, with the frame facing upwards. Place your clipboard underneath your screen, as you’ll be printing, to get a sense of size. Your screen should be larger than your clipboard, and needs at least a 2” border buffer, as printing too closely to the edge of the screen is tricky and just doesn’t print well.

    Blog_6_Pic_3

    Flip your screen over. You’ll now block parts of the screen using tape. Begin with the sides and bottom of the screen so that you get closer to the actual size of the clipboard. Then have fun with creating open stripes or geometric patterns with your tape. Just keep in mind that you’ll eventually have to flip your screen over again, so remember that your print will come out in reverse of what you are taping.

    Blog_6_Pic_4

    Before printing, flip your screen over to get a better sense as to what will print. I’m going to print off the edges of my clipboard, which is why the open area is larger than my clipboard, but feel free to keep the printing contained within the printing surface. It’s definitely less messy that way.

    Blog_6_Pic_5

    To print, you’ll need the frame to be held in place, either by a handy friend or in my case, a hinge-clamp board. Gather your ink + squeegee.

    Blog_6_Pic_6

    Position the clipboard directly under the screen where you want to print. Using a spatula or spoon, spread ink to the top of your screen in a line.

    Blog_6_Pic_7

    Before printing, you need to “flood” your screen. Using your squeegee, which should be a little wider than your design, in your dominant hand and holding the frame up in your other hand, pull the ink towards you at a 45 degree angle. This is filling the open screen with ink prior to printing. (Since I was taking a picture, I just rested my frame on my tape roll.)

    Blog_6_Pic_8

    Once the screen is full of ink, place the screen down directly on the clipboard. With the screen firmly in place, pull the squeegee down again at a 45 degree angle. Don’t be afraid of really applying some pressure here. In fact, you may want to do 2 or 3 pulls, as wood will absorb some of the ink.

    Blog_6_Pic_9 Blog_6_Pic_10

    Gently pull up the frame and you should have a new, fancy updated clipboard. If you are printing on various size clipboards, as I did, be sure to print in order from large to small. And with printing, the time is in the setup not the printing, so why not line up a pile of flat items to print on while you’re at it!

    Blog_6_Pic_11

    —————————————————————————————————————————
    Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. Products are created to inspire memories at home and around the table. A donation is made with every purchase to help feed hungry Americans.

    www.BonnieKayeStudio.com

  • Christie’s Paper Garland Tutorial

    garland2Tutorial + Photos by Christie Sommers

    Try this inexpensive and easy tutorial to spruce up your place or decorate for a party. Paper garland is a great way to reuse old travel maps. You can also use colored or decorative paper purchased at your local craft shop.

    You will need:

    *paper….at least the thickness of printer paper, newspaper may be too thin.

    *a sewing machine set to straight stitch, threaded in color of your choice

    *scissors OR (rotary cutter, straight edge, cutting mat)

    *a paper punch (I used a Fiskars 1/2″ paper punch) You can get creative with a vast assortment of paper cutter shapes found at your local craft store in the scrapbook section. Don’t go with anything smaller than 1/2″ because it will be difficult to feed through the sewing machine.

    Supplies

    Start by cutting your paper into strips. I cut mine into 1″ strips. Just be sure your strips are larger than your paper punch shape.

    cutting

    Go nuts punching out your shapes.

    punch

    Do a little math to find how many circles you will need to make the length of garland you want. In my case (2) 1/2″ circles equals roughly 1″ of garland.

    With your sewing machine set to straight stitch & threaded in the color of your choice, begin feeding each circle under the presser foot.  The feed dogs will take it from there. Have a pile of circles very close by and place one circle right after the other without overlapping.

    stitch

    Before you know it you will have yards and yards of garland!

    garland 3

    To store: you can carefully wrap around a piece of cardboard until you are ready to use..

    Enjoy!
    ——————————————————————————————————————-
    Christie Sommers is the designer and maker behind West Oak Design. She handcrafts small batch and one of a kind goods for home, women, and kids in her Wyndmoor, Pa studio. www.westoakdesign.com

     

     

  • Candy Depew Fabric Printing Demo @ Art Star

    We are excited to announce that the inspiring Candy Depew will be joining us for our July 14th “Thirsty Thursday”!

    For those of you who don’t know, Candy is an incredibly talented Philadelphia artist & master printer.  She has set up a silk screen printing school in Olde City called The Studio School of the Decorative Arts. She teaches a variety of silk screen classes there from basic beginner/refresher courses to wallpaper & fabric design/printing.  Many of her students have gone on to create fashion collections, small business start-ups, limited edition archival prints, T-shirts, textiles for interiors, and unique artist editions.

    Candy will be demonstrating fabric yardage printing at Art Star from 5-8pm during  our July 14th “Thirsty Thursday”.  She will also be debuting her new line of  silkscreen textiles known as “Fat Quarters”.  Stop in for a complimentary frosty beverage (non-alcoholic this week b/c Girls Rock Philly will be visiting), get a glimpse of the art of fabric printing & snag a Candy Depew Fat Quarter for a weekend DIY project!  This event is free & no registration is required.  Just bring your beautiful selves & some friends for a fun night at Art Star!

    BTW, Candy is still accepting students for her July & August classes.  Go here for a complete class list & prices: http://www.candycoated.org/school.html

The owner of this website has made a commitment to accessibility and inclusion, please report any problems that you encounter using the contact form on this website. This site uses the WP ADA Compliance Check plugin to enhance accessibility.