So, here's the design I finally ended up going with. Many thanks to those of you who gave me feedback and comments. It was really genuinely helpful. I still feel like the design was a little too rushed, and the drawing is kinda crappy. But ultimately that's my fault for putting it off as long as I did. The shirts came out really well, though :)

Printing them was a bit of an adventure. Printing with waterbased ink without retarder SUCKS. Printing waterbased ink without a heatgun or flash dryer SUCKS. I really need one or the other, preferably both, ASAP. In the end I was only able to get about six printed before I had to clean out the screens and start again. My boss has been really helpful and supportive though. He gave me a catalyst to mix into my inks which helps them stay in the shirt since I don't have a proper dryer, and he just tonight gave me a chemical I can mix in that--while not strictly a retarder--should serve the same function. I'll hopefully try it out later this week.

But I have to say, the registration is PERFECT! Absolutely spot-on. I couldn't have asked for better results from my little press :)

If anyone is interested, I've been uploading pictures of my various printing projects to my Flickr account, and I just uploaded a couple videos of my press to YouTube.




I know that I haven't spent much time on LJ lately, and I do miss it. I've not been keeping yall abreast of my projects, and I'm hopelessly behind on my f-list. But the simplest way I can put it is that things are good, things are busy (crazy busy almost!) but the things going on are exciting and positive.

I hope yall are well!
-P.

I'm sorry ElJay, I've been neglecting you (though I'm pretty caught up on my f-list!) Let's see if I can unload some of the stuff I've been wanting to post about.

So, I made Christmas cards again this year. And, though they didn't come out much better than last year's I am sending this crop out :)

Er... shit, looking back, man, I should have sent those out, they looked AWESOME. But I digress...

So yeah, I made crimmas cards. They're screenprinted, 3-colors on the outside, 1 on the inside, and all from hand-drawn films. Now... I think they look a little busch league (though apparently in about a year I won't, lol), but they're pretty. Basically, when I had the idea, I was so stoked on it, I executed them really fast. I wanted them to look hand-drawn... but I didn't want them to look like a five year old drew them, which they do, lol. But así es la vida.

The images are "ojos de dios," or "god's eyes." I've no idea their religious significance, but I remember that as a kid, we would make them every year and hang one at the top of our christmas tree. It's part of my puerto rican heritage, and they've always reminded me of christmas time, so I thought they'd be pretty good fodder for a card.


Pretty much each one is unique; I printed them 4 at a time, and switched colors a few times each layer, so almost every one is individual.

Hope everyone has a good holiday :)

-P.

Rock! So dig it, I totally just made this awesome 5-color, hand-silkscreened poster for a party I'm having from hand-drawn transparencies. And here's how it went.

I decided we were gonna watch Dead Alive at the party, and I remembered that I had done this little sketch of a skull puking in my sketchbook a year or so back. PERFECT!

( The rest! Image heavy, and a video, but SFW )


Phew, so there you go, that's how this craziness came to be. If ya got any questions, lemme know. And now, I'm going to bed. Later.
-P.

Alright, so, I've been getting a little bored with my hair lately. I wanted to do something new with it. I'd seen a guy at work keep his hair in check with a t-shirt sleeve, so I gave a similar thing a try. I ripped the sleeve off an old t-shirt and put it on my head. It looked pretty slick, basically like a dew-rag.

But, a few years back, I saw someone with a really awesome head band that was basically a slightly longer tube of elastic fabric. I wanted to make myself something like that, so I did. (Thanks for teaching me to sew, mom!) The three pictures to the upper right are the headband I made. I basically cut a semi-triangular section out of a really soft t-shirt and sewed it together such that I could still get my head through it. It works like a dew-rag, but it's a bit longer. If I'd made the end bit any narrower, I wouldn't be able to fit into it.

So, my question is basically this: does it look good? Should I be wearing this thing in public? Or do I look like a douche?

For comparison, these pictures to the lower left are me in the regular un-modified t-shirt sleeve.

Your thoughts. They are appreciated.



BOO YA.

-P.

Oh, and you know what the next logical step to this headband thing is, right? Screenprinting some badass pattern onto them and selling them, of course! Hmmm... Hey Jenn, we could maybe produce the horn headband you've been thinkin' of this way. Unless you want the horn pattern sewn in.

If typography makes your cilia wave excitedly, then you must watch this video. I laughed so hard I almost cried.



Enjoy.

-P.

These are two linocuts I finished a few weeks ago. Enjoy!



Hehe, it may interest you to know that first one comes from an actual fortune I got in a fortune cookie, verbatim. I'm really excited :) That was a project I've wanted to get out of my head and onto paper for a while now :) The second one, well, it was just something I had in my head, so I made it.

Eventually, these are going to be turned into t-shirts. I'm going to screenprint them, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I don't have access to a printing press. Second, even if I did, it's a lot faster and easier to screenprint them. And, I work at a silkscreen shop.

So, as long as I'm silkscreening these, I may as well add some color, right? I whipped up these as possibilities. Any thoughts? I'm not crazy about either combination for the When You Are Squeezed image, but I definitely like the second one better. At least, I like that the hand, cookie, text are one color, and the banner another. As for the ILY Hand, I definitely like the second one better. I discovered that combination looks good on pretty much every shirt color you put it on, which is awesome, though I probably won't use that nasty light purple for the hand, heh.

Anyway, hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think :)
-P.

[Edit: Oh, you see those big colored blotches in the backs of the colored versions? Those are actually fortune cookie wrappers that I rolled in ink and printed to paper, then blew up to use as backgrounds. Cool huh?]

So, I *tried* to make Christmas cards this year, and, in fact, I did make some. The results were... well, I guess it depends on what you like, lol.



I planned to make them with spraypaint and cut stencils. I hadn't done it before, so I wasn't sure what substrate to use. I thought some illustration board I had lying around would be sturdy enough, so I drew up the images and cut them out. They looked pretty good. So, I got my buddies Austin and TJ to come over one night and help me do them up.


We got started and things went ok until the first problems arose. Once the board got wet, it warped pretty bad, which made the edges of the image fuzzy and shadowed. Also, since a shit-ton of wet paint was accumulating on the surface of the board, it started to drip down through the stencils onto the cards in ugly gray splotches. Then even later, some of the finer details of the stencils began to break away from the board, leaving holes where I didn't want them. I was pretty unhappy about it at first, but more recently, I've been able to admit that the shadowing probably makes the images look a hell of a lot more interesting. I guess I got attached to a certain outcome and forgot that sometimes in art you've just gotta let things happen.


After a while we called it a night. The cards were half done; they had either an inside or an outside, but not both. My stencils were pretty much toast, so I decided to screenprint the insides. I decided to give the cut stencil method another try. I re-cut my stencils, out of acetate this time, taped them to the bottom of my crappy little speedball screens, and went to town. Heh, the results weren't much better than the spraypaint. The softness of the squeegee, the low mesh count of the screen and the frigging stencil method itself conspired to create splotchy prints with bubbly looking ink. But, some of them did look cool. And, I even got to use some metallic silver and gold ink I got when Davis Design went out of business in Greensboro.


Umm... I guess I could include these, too. This is the other card that almost was. I really wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit this year, and kind of wanted to make the anti-christmas card. Well... a card that didn't look or feel like a christmas card. Heh, I really liked the stoplight and smoke thing because it was just so damned enigmatic, but I was never satisfied enough with it to commit it to a screen. Oh, the text means 'happy holidays' in Russian.


So, even if I wasn't totally satisfied with the results, I had a blast with the whole process, and learned some new techniques to use in the future. And, I also got these. These are the actual physical stencils we used to make the cards. The way the paint dried on them, they look amazing! One of these days (or weekends more likely) I want to frame them.


And with that, dear friends, I have talked too much, when these images alone should have been more than enough to say: Merry Christmas.


-P.

Hey everyone! Alright, so here's the second shirt design I made. Just like the last one, it's a bona fide relief print printed directly to the shirt, only this time it's a woodcut rather than a linocut. It's also a larger image at approx 20x16 inches. The design reads "Life is Short - Bray Hard." -- For those that aren't print addicts, a brayer is the rubber roller used for rolling ink out onto a relief block before printing: it's what the hand is holding in the image. Again, these are for sale for the same low price of $20.

     

( More pictures and info behind the cut! )

Thanks for looking!!!

-P.

The most awesome keyboard ever conceived? Well, it's here, and available for preorder.

Sadly, it's $1500. The thing is, if I could afford it, I'd buy it. That is an amazing piece of hardware. One day......

In other news, I might go see 300 again today. Dunno, just been in the mood for it lately.

-P.

I dream--in every sense of the word--about living in a house like one of these.

-P.

PS - Does anyone have mp3s of the following songs?
Eames Era - Got your note
That Dog - Minneapolis
Histrioniks - Underneath it all
Wonderful Smith - Hard alcohol
The Sounds - Much too long
Dressy Bessy - You stand here
Stars - Elevator Love Letter

I have a soft spot for indie girly pop. It is my secret shame.

For the typography nerds on my flist (of which there are many), Typeface Pinup girls. Mostly SFW.

-P.

I've got a ton of cool new art in queue to post, but I want to post these things in chronological order, so let me pick up where I left off. Remember how I went to the foundry a while back to experiment with sculpture? Well, here's what I made that night. It's an 8" cube made from 1/4" diameter steel rod. It was definitely fun to do, but welding is effing intimidating.
Sadly, I haven't had time to go back to the foundry since that night, but that's ok, I need to devote that time to prints :)


Around this same time, I built myself a wooden shelf to keep in my locker. I had too much crap just sitting in a heap on the floor of it, so I made this to keep it all organized. It's been SOOOO nice to have. This was my first attempt at designing and building something out of wood. My craftsmanship left a bit to be desired in places, but I'm pretty happy with it. Here are some pics:

-P.

Hehe, yes. Very, very true.

-P.

Star Sapphire Design Vector design based on a star sapphire (process sketch; not a finished work).

This image and the one that preceeded it are both preliminary images done for my digital design class. The project we're working on focuses on developing our design skills, and refining our design process. We were to choose a natural object that inspired us, and do studies of it via drawing and photography, then use those as a basis for studies in Photoshop and Illustrator. The previous one was done in Photoshop, this one in Illustrator. I really like how this is coming out, it makes me feel not quite so inept at Illustrator.

I really like the previous image, too. The more I look at it, the more I like it. And a cool thing about it is that it still looks just as powerful no matter which way you turn it.



In other art news, I bought a 2x3' sheet of birch plywood today to do my first woodcut for my independent study class. I did the preliminary drawing wednesday night and it looks awesome! I'm so fucking stoked :) (Thanks for the help Jenn!)

-P.

PS - Don't forget to come see me at What The Hell Con this weekend. Admission is FREE.

This is a little 'something' from my digital design class. I don't want to say anything about the image just yet. I'm more interested in hearing from you all about it. What do you see in it? What does it make you feel? What does it make you think about? It looks best viewed full-size.

-P.

I've been meaning to write this post for two weeks and haven't gotten to it. I suck.

This semester I've chosen not to work; I've talked it over with my mom, made myself a budget and am living off student loans. I'd feel bad about this (some of you know why), if it weren't for the fact that my course load is already pushing me to the edge of my sanity and it's only the third week of class, hehe.

Here's what I'm taking:

Photography I (ART 285)
Black and white manual photography, with darkroom techniques. I think photography is a pretty essential skill for any artist, so I'm glad to be taking this. We learned to develop negatives Monday, and tomorrow we're doing our first printing. The teacher, Sarah Martin, is AWESOME! She's young, very friendly, always smiling, happy to be there and to answer questions. I'm really liking this class thus far. I hope it helps me get better at compositioning.

Oh, hehe, and I am one of two guys (the other being Mattxem, whose photography is fucking mind-blowing), out of a class of something like 19 beautiful, young women (including the professor). Not that that means anything, but it's still kinda fun :)

Design III (ART 340)
Advanced digital design course. The instructor, Amy Lixl-Purcell, is really neat, very knowledgeable and--here's the important bit--is actually teaching us design techniques!. I had Jym Davis for Design II last semester, and while I like him, he didn't teach us design, just how to use design software. We're going to be doing a lot of web design and animation in this class, with mostly natural or introspective themes. I don't feel as awkward and inconfident in design as I did last semester, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of this class.

Etching I (ART 228)
♥♥♥ PRINTMAKING! *SQUEEE!*♥♥♥ *ahem* Yeah, this class rocks. This is my first time doing intaglio printmaking and thus far, I really like it. The process is faster and cleaner than relief printmaking, and the finished result is so much different (not better, just different). The instructor, Bob Gerhart, is a very laid back, 'do-it-yourself' kind of teacher. The first week, he taught us the basics of etching and then just set us free to do our work. We have no assigned projects; we have four critique dates throughout the semester at which time we're expected to have a finished edition to show. Hehe, the class may as well be an independent study. I like learning this way, though, so it's all good.

Independent Study (ART 499)
I've chosen to do large scale relief printing for this course. So many people signed up for this that the teacher had to break us into groups roughly by medium. There's only one other student in the class who's doing printmaking. I actually had my first relief printmaking class with her last spring. She's ridiculously talented. In addition to our artwork, the teacher, Chris Thomas, wants us to keep a journal of our process (to be turned in periodically), and do research into our chosen medium to see who's doing it, what current trends are, etc. This is proving to be difficult as there just aren't that many printmakers out there. I'm gonna email these guys soon and ask for guidance. Hopefully they'll help me out.

Philosophy of the Arts (PHI 322)
Ahh, my last philosophy course before I'll have completed my philosophy degree. This class is the single most intellectually stimulating philosophy course I've taken yet. We're taking a look at various definitions of art and evaluating them, trying to come to a loose understanding of what art is. We're also looking at how we approach art, what preconceptions we bring to bear upon art when we view it, etc. The professor, Janine Jones is a very good teacher, though a bit of a slave driver. I've already done more work for this class than for any of my studios.



So that's my semester. I love every one of these classes and feel inspired every day. The one thing that's bringing me down is how much work I have to do. In addition to these classes, I'm working a temporary freelance job developing a website with Keithkeefus. At times, I'm stressed to the point that some of that inspiration and joy fades away to anxiety. I'm working through it, though. To manage my time, I've begun making daily schedules for myself, hour by hour marking off what I need to do. It kinda sucks, but it is helping me keep on top of my responsibilities, and it makes me feel less panicked. Lauren_lauren_ posted something lovely from Kahlil Gibran in her journal recently, which has also helped me to feel a bit better about things:

When the prophet was asked about work he said that you work to keep pace with life and that work should be performed with love and in doing so it will no longer be a curse or misfortune. "All work is empty save when there is love" And to work with love you should perform your task as if you are doing it for your beloved. You should focus on how it will help someone because even the smallest and seemingly stupidest job is of some help to someone. Any situation can be seen in a positive light. You just have to be a little stubborn and have a lot of humility.

Thank you for that, Lauren.

Wish me luck!

-P.

There have been three moments this semester which have really stood out, and made me feel really fantastic, like I'm doing things right, and am on my way to a bright future.

Last night was one of them. I recieved this in my email:

Hey Phil,

I meant to ask you if I could have a digital copy of your last texture project. I would love to use that as an example in my future classes (since I am low on projects to show for this particular assignment). It fit really well with the concept. If you could send me a 200 dpi (or there-abouts) version I would love it. Thanks and I will be sure to give you credit!

have a great christmas,

mr. d

Kick ass :)
-P.

I finished my final design project tonight. I printed it on 11x17" epson glossy photo paper. The printer gave it kind of a reddish cast, but it's still beautiful to look at.

Here it is. Comments and criticisms encouraged :)



-P.

Nehai
I took Nehai to the vet Tuesday. She confirmed that he's a little boy (a very little boy, weighing in at a whopping 1.1 lbs). He had ear mites, so she gave him some ear drops. She said the diarrhea was probably being caused worms, so she gave him a de-worming pill. If it doesn't stop in two days, I should take him back to the vet. He is also unquestionably underdeveloped. The vet didn't believe that he's three months old; she thought closer to five weeks. However, Brittany's parents had him for ~three months, so... The vet said to bring him back in three weeks and if at that time he hasn't grown much, then frankly, he probably won't survive, or at least won't be a healthy, normal cat. That would be sad. He's seemed a bit better today, though; he's definitely been behaving more like a kitten. I would hardly call him painfully biting my nipples endearing, though.

I've heard some really bad things about male cats (spraying in the house, for example). Have any of you had problems with male cats? Specifically indoor male cats?

Final Design Project
A week or so ago, I posted a request for models and equipment for a video for my final design project. Although I think it's a really strong idea--which I definitely want to realize in the future--I'm going to go with a print project instead. I think the idea I had for the print project was a lot stronger, both conceptually and compositionally. I'm excited about it, and I'll post it when it's done. Thank you VERY much to the friends of mine who offered to be models, and to Matt for offering to loan me a camera.

Pictures
Remember that roll of slide film I accidentally got developed into prints? I took the negatives to the design lab today and scanned them in the film scanner to see if they were salvageable. As it turns out, the colours are inverted, but other than that, the negatives are fine, and now I can see how those pictures really turned out :) I'll post some next week when I have time.

El Pelo
I'm getting a little tired of my hair hanging down all mop-like every day, so I'm going to wear it in a ponytail in public for the first time tomorrow. My hair isn't quite long enough yet to completely stay tied back; there's still an inch wide strip of hair on both sides of my head which falls out, and has to be tucked behind my ear. What do you all think? Acceptable? Or fashion faux pas? (When did I start caring about this crap?)

Recommend An Artist/Community To Me
I'm sure a lot of you have artists on your friend lists (friends, and professionals you fanboy/girl over). So, recommend one to me. I wanna broaden my horizons.

Buenas noches,
-P.