Silk Screen Printing

Ceramic and Textiles

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a coating. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink through the mesh openings to wet the substrate during the squeegee stroke. Basically, it is the process of using a mesh-based stencil to apply ink onto a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material. The example you see here is Zack Holton's variation of The Great Wave by,Hokusai. 

Visionary Artist Minnie Evans

Ceramics and Textiles 

This week we will learn about the North Carolina artist Minnie Evans. Minnie was a visionary folk artists from Wilmington, NC.You will be creating a symmetrical drawing influenced by Minnie Evans.  Your drawing will be filled with organic shapes, bright rainbow colors, contain one bird, and one other animal. While we are drawing the next few weeks we will take the opportunity to tie dye. If you are interested in learning different techniques for tie dye this is your chance! Bring in a 100% cotton T-Shirt.

Vanitas Still-Life

Beginning Art

You will be learning about the genre of vanitas paintings and the artist Audrey Flack. We will be setting up our own unique symbolic still-life and creating a Photorealistic drawing from observation using colored pencils.

Illusion of Form

Beginning Art

An artist starts with a two-dimensional surface; it may be a wall, a canvas, a board, or paper By the use of paint, graphite, or other media the artist must make the viewer enter his/her world and share his/her vision. But the actual world isn’t two-dimensional and the artist can’t create a three dimensional world on the surface. How do we get around this problem?

The answer is illusion – to represent the three dimensional world on the two dimensional surface the artist has to use systems of illusion that create the impression of space, of depth and of movement.

You will be studying the effect of light and shadows to create the illusion of form. You will be working from a selfie. Change your selfie to a black and white photograph. Pump up the highlights! Crop it to a square. Now keeping the same proportions you will mathematically increase the scale. Here is the trick!!!....You be drawing upside hiding all the boxes except the one you are drawing. This technique will trick the left side of your brain. You will be amazed by your results!!!

Ancient Art of Batik

Ceramic and Textiles

You will be learning about the ancient art of batik! The tradition of making batik is found in various countries, including Nigeria, China, India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka; the batik of Indonesia, however, is the most well-known. Indonesian batik made in the island of Java has a long history of acculturation, with diverse patterns influenced by a variety of cultures, and is the most developed in terms of pattern, technique, and the quality of workmanship. Batik is based on the idea that wax and water repel each other. The subject matter for our batik will be animals. Ready, get set, start sketching!


Origins of Batik!