E-mail for SCC faculty and staff has been down since Friday afternoon. If you need to reach me, leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address, and I’ll get back to you a.s.a.p. Hopefully I.T. will have things fixed shortly. I’ll let you know when I can access my inbox again.
Great job with the t-shirt printing yesterday, my industrious printmakers!
We shall be the envy of everyone in the Delaware Valley! Well… at least everyone with a shred of sensibility of what’s AWESOME.
As you may remember me shouting amidst the cleaning chaos yesterday night, if you want your shirt to last beyond a washing or two, you need to cure it. No, no, no… don’t rush it to the local medicine man, Sillybean… cure means heat treating it to fully set the ink.
By da by, in case you don’t have an iron at home, I will try to find mine to bring to class next week. The operative work in that sentence is “try,” btdubs. I know I own an iron. Okay… I’m like 87% sure I own an iron. However, I can’t remember the last time I used it, so it may have gone to the place where single socks and extra sets of keys go to languish.
Tune in later this week to Same Bat-URL, Same Bat-Blogroll for another post on all the need to know for our final class! (*sniffle*)
Hello Printmakers!
You’re getting a two-for-the-price-of-one sampling of blog posts this week because I feel Project 4 needs some clarification based on the thumbnails I’m seeing from everyone. This is an assignment that not only allows but embraces pop culture imagery. However, simply drawing, *insert favorite character here*,” isn’t enough to meet the project goals.
Why?
Because rendering existing creative content without significantly modifying it through your own point-of-view is fan art not fine art.
Don’t get me wrong. I love fan art. In my rare bits of free time, I make fan art of egomaniacal, dragon-obsessed teenage CEOs and depressed anthropomorphic horse actors and rampaging black-eyed witches who flay people while quipping the light fantastic .
Seto Kaiba: how can you not want to draw someone who so thoroughly rocks pointy coat shoulders?
Nonetheless, it’s not fine art I make when I spend a day in Photoshop with my favorite characters because the creative core of the work is not my own. That’s key, so let me repeat: fan art is not fine art because the creative core of the work is not your own. Someone else did the heavy mental lifting to develop the characters, the aesthetic, the themes, etc. Sure, you might add an interesting pose or develop a unique style or even place the character in a shiny new location or situation, but you aren’t substantially altering the original intent. What fan art primarily says is “I love you,” to something that touched your life, and that is a beautiful thing to express. It’s just not an artistically meaningful thing with regard to this assignment.
The bottom line is that Project 4 is not about picking a who, what or it from your favorite show or movie or book and making a picture of it. It’s about using popular culture to say something deeper. From the Project 4 Guidelines:
(Y)our print must intersect with popular culture in a meaningful way…use subject, style and composition to express a point of view. For example, you might create a print that draws our attention to the beauty of an everyday object we would otherwise never notice. Or perhaps you design an image that comments on our obsession with celebrity. Go creative!
And remember, you don’t have to use pop culture subject matter at all. Also from the guidelines:
For Project 4…(y)ou can choose subject matter from movies, tv shows, comic books, pulp novels, advertisements, products, signs, graffiti, memes, celebrity culture, etc. Or you can adopt some of the aesthetic qualities found in these types of materials (colors, shapes, compositions) as a means to bring fresh interpretation to another type of subject matter. As usual, our theme is intentionally open to interpretation.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment or e-mail. I know this is tough, and the distinctions are fine, but I believe in you! Let’s rock Project 4 every bit as awesomely as we did Project 3!
Looking for something fun to do tonight, Friday, November 18? Of course you are! So why not check out the anniversary party at Studio Luloo in Oaklyn, NJ! The bash starts at 7 pm, and Salem Community College CGA major extraodinaire Billy Bollinger will be playing with Podacter, his self-described “dum dum punk band” (way to sell yourself Billy).
If that’s not reason enough to bestir yourself (and why the heck wouldn’t it be?!?), all the money earned goes to wicked good causes.
In Billy’s words:
All proceeds from the door will be donated to Studio Luloo, keeping the space alive and able to continue being a cool spot for local bands and to benefit their awesome community outreach programs like COMMUNITY ROCKS!
On top of that, if you pick up a cd, cassette, or vinyl from my band, all money made at our table will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU.ORG) to help defend basic human rights. We will also have a donation jar conveniently placed out in case you really hate physical records.
YAY thanks for listening ya’ll and let’s smash fascists, racists, sexists, and homophobes together!
Studio Luloo
215 W. Clinton Ave
Oaklyn, NJ 08107
Studio Luloo is BYOB for those who are of age and located directly next to “a pretty dank brewery, a pizza place, and a water ice place lovingly named Yum Yum’s.” (Billy’s words).
In addition to Podacter, the lineup (described oh-so-succinctly by our Mr. Bollinger) is as follows:
For more information about Podacter visit podacter.bandcamp.com.
This is such a great idea. It’s exciting to see people fighting the good fight. I so very very much want to go, but I have to work :(. You all need to attend and tell me about it so I can live vicariously! Go… change the world (and maybe enjoy a beverage and some music while you’re at it).
For our pre-Turkey day class meeting, please do the following:
Complete your guide drawing for Project 4: POP! Goes the Screenprint.
This drawing should:
All bets are off if anyone is hardcore enough to cut a stencil like this one!
Have a minimum of three colors not counting white (which is created by saving the paper color). You can design something with more than three, but keep in mind that you will be cutting a stencil for each color (except white). On your guide drawing you can either fill in the colors or write in what’s what. The latter is the better way to go if you’re not sure whether you’re done making changes, but of course the former gives you a better idea of how your print will look.
We will discuss your guide drawings briefly as a group at the beginning of class, so please have them ready to go before 5:20 pm. And, yeah… spend some time on this… the more you do to nail down an exciting composition now, the more likely it is you will get a satisfying print.
If you want a progress check before next class, feel free to e-mail me a photo of your drawing, and I’ll respond with feedback. This is optional, btdubs.
Pack the following items. Do it. Go put ’em in that schoolbag RIGHT NOW so you don’t forget.
Plastic containers for mixing. These can be of the purchased Gladware or Ziplock variety OR can be repurposed margarine containers, parmesan cheese tubs, yogurt cups, etc. Anything plastic 8oz or larger with a lid will do. No breaky, breaky glass, please!By the way, this group of to-brings shouldn’t come as a shock. These are all items from your course supply list. We do not have this stuff for use in the classroom nor will I have them myself, so get ye packing!
In addition to making your guide drawing, spend some time this week on a design for t-shirt printing… assuming you want to, that is. It’s optional.
FYI, I will be burning screens on Monday, November 28 so the last day to turn something in physically is next Tuesday, November 22. If your image is digital, you have until Sunday, November 27 at which point I need a good quality jpg or png by e-mail. Guidelines are below
Even if you don’t want to make an original design, you are still welcome to participate in shirt printing on November 29. All you have to do is bring a shirt… preferably one that will look good with a black design (black on black is SO last season). You can use the design I create or maybe even one by a classmate, assuming you ask super special nicely.
Happy Friday, my intrepid Drawing, Printmaking and Web Design students! It may be fall break, but there’s never a wrong time to introduce a shiny new extra credit opportunity!
As you may or may not know, Salem Community College has an online literary and art magazine called From the Oak Desk. It is published monthly and features the work of current students. Supercool… check it out.
Anyhoo… I will award 10 extra credit points to anyone who, between now December 15th, submits a piece representing the work they’re doing in my class(es). In other words, printmaking students should submit a print from class, Drawing students should submit a drawing from class and web designers should submit a mock up or website from class. The submission process for From the Oak Desk is as easy as snapping a photo and sending an e-mail.
Actual fries I got from a Middle Eastern restaurant just down the street from me in Philly. Hand cut with grilled peppers and onions… if that doesn’t make you want to be an engaged, exhibiting artist, I don’t know what will!
Go for french fries (which always sound amazing after being all productive and crap).
FYI: this is a one-time only offer, meaning you can only get points once. Don’t spam Professors Lucente and Martin with a new e-mail every time you make an art. Rather, choose wisely. The caveat is that, if you have more than one class with me, you may receive extra credit in all of the above if you submit appropriate pieces for each. These multiple submissions can be sent to the From the Oak Desk jury in one e-mail.
Here’s what’s next! Finish these four tasty tasks for Tuesday!
After our critique next week, we will discuss thumbnails and also have an introduction to the technique of paper stencil screen printing. Come ready to absorb the learnin’!
“Trump Warhol” by Jesse Metcalfe and its inspiration “Green Marilyn” by Andy Warhol (1962).
It’s a new day, and we’ve got a newly minted president-elect with deep links to popular culture. Hmmm… coincidence that we’re about to start screen printing? You decide!
Aaannnddd… whether you’re celebrating or mourning after Tuesday’s tumultuous turnout, what better way to work through your emotions than with art?* Below please find a pdf with guidelines for Project 4.
ART140: Printmaking Project 4: POP! Goes the Screen Print
*P.S. I’m here to talk if you have concerns or anxieties in the wake of the election. Contact me via e-mail or grab me in class!
So this thing happened on Tuesday….
Yeah….
What can we say about it?
Huh… well, it was… something. The rough and divisive nature of both the campaign and the election has certainly produced strong emotions in people on both sides of this aisle. As you are no doubt aware, protests are happening nationwide. There is a lot of uncertainty floating around about what happens next. Heck, reading the comment section on any given political article or Facebook post is like staring into the time vortex (don’t do it; you’ll go insane).
If you feel anxious, are being bullied or simply want to vent some feelings because of this turbulent transition, I am willing to listen. I am in no way a trained counselor, but sometimes talking helps. Outside of that, make sure you are engaging with friends, family and others who will give you support. For more serious discussion, you may wish to contact Salem Community College for information about what counseling resources exist in the area.
Stay strong, my wonderful students!
Don’t forget to vote! I dragged my lazy tush out of the snuggly bed at 6:45 a.m. in order to cast my choices for a less apocalyptic future. Your turn!
FYI: lines may be long. As the woman in front of me commented, “Whatever people are feeling, they’re feeling it strongly!” Leave yourself a little extra time and bring a distraction. It’s so very worth it (and not just for the extra credit).
Del's Digital Classroom 
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