Skateboard Project Part 2

Its been a while since I last posted-grad school apps have kept me quite busy! Laura wrote an awesomely nice post -> http://visionsofpigeons.blogspot.com/2011/11/favorite-blogs.html, and I was inspired to update my blog!

So where were we? Oh yeah, so the block was ready to be printed. Our studio art department here in Pittsburgh does not teach woodcut printing, so we don’t have the type of press that is commonly used for this process. I had to make due with the etching press, which was fine, but it took a little trial and error to get the image to my liking. This is what the first print looked like with the block next to it on the press. I love this process photo, I think it demonstrates how clean and prepped the materials have to be.





The print!





The skateboard!





Here she is, painted with protective enamel to seal her from water and dirt. The color scheme and image was influenced by early Bauhaus painting (I’m pretty certain that I first sketched the idea for this project in my Bauhaus history class).

Fin!

Skateboard Project Part 1

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s Philly had an awesome scene for skating that revolved around Love Park and City Hall. It was dope to skate there because many of the pros that I idolized would mingle and talk to us youngsters. They’d warm up and casually attempt impossible tricks, making them look simple. I’d be there for ten hours bouncing off the marble tile and crashing around. Once it got dark I would trundle home covered in dirt and pigeon shit-but I loved it!

Memories like this have kept me inspired to stay involved with skateboarding for more than a decade. My directed study in printmaking was a perfect venue to experiment with new ways to approach skateboard design, something I had thought about doing for a while.





Last spring I was experimenting with woodblock printing (see previous post). The problem with block printing is that it generates a lot of refuse. I noticed that the rough grooves from the carvings acted like grip-tape on a skateboard. I purposefully converted the wood from the printing block to a skateboard as a way to extend the material’s life.

I’ve decided to name this project process "pre-adaptive reuse,” the method of designing an object with the intent that it will be reused (after serving its first purpose).





The woodblock was meticulously milled by hand in the shape of the skateboard. No CNC router in the Frick studio. Just a jig saw, palm sander, and TLC. ***Side Note: This wood was found in the garbage, so it further plays on the adaptive reuse theme.





Then I drew my design on the surface, and hand carved it with V and U-gouge tools. This photo shows the block after it had already been carved. For those who have never tried it, woodcarving is soooo tedious/difficult. Since its a reductive process there is no way of fixing a mistake. I have the utmost respect for master printers. Anyway, my block is now ready for printing.

Wood Cut

First attempt at 3-color woodblock. Note color theory fans that I used CMY in that order!

Watercolor

I did this watercolor drawing as part of a final project for my Florence Sketchbook class. I don’t often do drawn work that is figurative but I really like how this one came out. I used a photo that Laura took with the Minolta Hi Matic-E rangefinder as a reference (the camera takes super crisp shots). There was a day last winter when the sun decided it was alright to show its face after months of negligence. The light was awesome and created some wonky shadows, so we had a photo field-day.

Fiesole and... Benny Warhol!

During our stay in Florence, Laura and I took many day-trips to nearby cities and towns. A fifteen minute ride on the ATAF city bus brought us up to one of our favorite destinations, Fiesole. Fiesole is a town nestled on top of a foothill(one of many) that surround Florence’s city borders. It was so much fun to shoot photos from up there because the views were unbelievably gorgeous, and the gnarly, winding roads add extra interest to the landscape. The small town feel and the picturesque hikes make for a wonderful vacation retreat.

My professor said that this photo of the dog reminded him of paparazzi shots. Its as if I caught my subject in a compromising act! I think it was just really hot that day and the scoundrel was simply trying to stay out of the Tuscan sun.











Fiesole is also the place where Laura and I purchased our most valuable European souvenir, Benny Warhol! Benny is named after the common Italian phrase “Va Bene,” and the beloved Pittsburgh native, Andy Warhol. Va Bene is loosely translated in English to “its all right,” or “ok.” Anyway, when I went to buy Benny at the grocery store, the clerk laughed uncontrollably for about 5 minutes. She then proceeded to show all of the other shoppers and cashiers the cactus until she finally gained enough composure to ring me up. I don’t care what she thinks, I love him...Enough to bring him back to the States.

Cascine Park!

In July, I took a class in darkroom photography and fell deeply in love with the process. The majority of my days were spent either taking photos, or developing and printing them. Film cameras just feel so damn good to work with because they allow you to spend time framing and focusing on your subject. There's no CPU on most analog cameras, so rather than searching through a million digital menus to figure out white balance, for example, you simply do the adjustments on the camera body. It becomes all about that perfect moment you compose the shot, adjust the mechanics and let that shutter swing baby!


Here are some images of my first prints from the Cascine Park in Florence, Italy:












The Cascine Park is practically the only public park in Florence designated to recreation. On sunny days people flock to the Cascine to ride bikes, work out, or do a little sun bathing. There is also a pretty good market, probably one of the only places in the city where you can buy clothing for an affordable price.

Collages!

During the summer of 2010, I felt the urge to keep making and yet I didn’t want to labor over any drawings or paintings. My junior year was exhausting (as everyone else’s was), and the last thing I wanted to do was stress out over art projects. The following collages were more therapeutic than tiring, and I love getting lost in the process of repetitive mark making, or in this case - paper cutting!




The photos utilized for this Star Wars collage were all collected from a Maxim magazine. My dad thought it would be funny, and would embarrass me if he got a free subscription to Maxim for me. Well, it was ... but it was a hit with my room mates. Anyway, the Maxim was awesome for collaging because the images are random, bright, and have vivid colors.




This neon horse collage was again made from Maxim spreads, but this time I overlaid an image from National Geographic.

I want to keep producing collages in the future, and maybe use some of my own photographic prints for material.