Bike Poster (for sale)

I entered the Spokes & Ink Bike and Poster festival contest for the first time this year. Local artists can design and submit bicycle themed posters to be sold the day of the festival. I thought it would be fun to give it a try. The festival has live music, games and different vendors. I was excited that I was selected. 
 

I have a number of posters leftover to sell, so if you'd like one, head over to my Etsy shop to purchase. Ok, the truth is, I didn't sell a single one at the festival. Womp womp. I'll admit, I was pretty disappointed about that. But my design was one of 44, so there were many to choose from. If you like it enough to buy one, I'll be happy to send you one - or two! This would make a fun piece of framed wall art for any cycling enthusiast or tack one up on a bulletin board.

Details: 11x17 inches. Printed on white card stock. Colors are aqua, dark pink and brown. Printed and ready to send to you!

Let the good times roll!
 

Phoenix Art Museum

While I was in Arizona, I visited the Phoenix Art Museum. I was excited it was nearby the convention center where I was attending the design conference, so I decided to walk there when I had a couple hours to myself. It was near lunch time, the sun was bright overhead (as it is everyday in Arizona) and I set out on my journey.

However, it happened to be 98 degrees and rising (literally), as I walked down the sidewalk, lugging a tote bag filled with papers, my camera AND my purse. I started to question the 1.5 mile walk, seeking the shade of every building I could. But I had already committed. I wanted to go to the art gallery. I must press on.

At last, I reached the gallery and it was air conditioned!

It was worth the sweat I broke, because I got to see some real art. Framed masterpieces by famous artists throughout the centuries. Not computer generated imposters or calendar reproductions. 

They have quite a collection of western American art. 

European and American pieces, straight out of art history.

Georgia O'Keeffe

Modern sculptures

Contemporary art

They even had this piece, which I immediately recognized as "Panther Devouring a Hare" by Antoine Louis Barye. Gruesome, I know, but this was one of the first pieces I had to memorize in Art History 101, and for whatever reason, it just stuck with me. With a name and visual like that, it's hard to forget!

And best of all, this beautiful Monet. 


The gallery was quite large with an extensive collection. If you ever have the chance, I recommend going. As a designer, it was so inspiring to walk around a gallery, by myself, taking time to admire at each piece. Taking it all in. Enormous paintings. Intricate sculptures. Detailed drawings. The color. The texture. The light. The form. Artists with talent beyond my comprehension. It felt good to stand face to face with "real" art, instead of behind a computer monitor using a mouse to control line and color. These artists dipped brushes into paint and hand depicted every line and shadow. No live trace, Photoshop, or scanners. They did it the hard way. The real way. Today, we have so many shortcuts and quick fixes literally at our fingertips. Real art takes time and dedication to craft. Sometimes that's easy to forget. 

I think I need to visit galleries more often.

Screen Printing with Alex

Who remembers screen printing in junior high art class? If you've never had the chance to try it, then you missed out. Simply put, it's a printing technique, like a stencil, that forces ink through a screen and transfers it onto paper, fabric or other substrate. It's very fun. But a tad bit messy. And the cleanup can be a pain. But the results are worth it! 


Here's an example of screen printing on burlap bags, that totally inspired me when I saw it on the dieline. 

Aren't these bags great? I don't know what it is, but I want one of these. I've been on a burlap kick lately and I happen to have a bunch of it in my craft closet. I also love printmaking and ink. There's just something about bold ink in the form of typography and graphics. Don't you agree? Maybe it's just me. 

Catalina Rozo & Melissa Clinard, recent graduates from the University of Florida created these cute Burlap Bags for Market Grown, a campaign to help local farmers in Alachua County, FL (source, thedieline.com). And now they're selling them on Etsy if you'd like to order one.

I was crushing on these bags and trying to figure out how I could make one of my own. Then, low and behold, my husband's brother's girlfriend Alex (did you get that?) tells me she HAS a screen printer. Say what? When is the screen printing party? 

So, that's what we did. We had a screen printing party. It was like having art class in my living room. Alex and David kindly carted all of the printing gear to our house and we went to town testing it on burlap and other fabrics. It was so much fun! 

Here are the screens and ink. 

I traced shapes onto wax paper and cut them out, making stencils. These cherries ended up being my favorite.

I also made a pear and some initial letters (recognize these old stencils Mom? I knew they would come in handy!). We taped them onto the back of the screen with masking tape. 

Then placed fabric underneath, where we wanted the design to transfer. Next, we spread a row of ink, enough to cover the width of the design.

Then it was time for the fun part. Using the squeegee to spread ink through the screen and onto the fabric. When screen printing, be sure to apply enough pressure. You may need to go back over it a couple of times (like I did) to make sure it covers everything. If it's not perfect, that's ok. That's what gives it the screen printed look.

This is what it looks like when the ink is spread. Can you see my "S"? 

 Tada! Isn't that cool? I might make this into a tote bag for myself (someday). 

Here's my favorite. I like the bright red against the light tan.

The mustard color pear didn't look as strong, but it's still cool.

It printed perfectly on this thick piece of white fabric.

An "A" for my honey, Andrew, and of course for Alex, my screen printing teacher. I want to mention that Alex's middle name is Andrea. Which means when you say her full name, it's Alex Andrea. Say it again. Alexandrea. Clever parents.

And "D" for David. 

That concludes this session of art class in my living room. Thank you Alex, for sharing your screen printer and letting me try out burlap printing. And thank you for letting me do all the fun parts, like pick shapes, use the squeegee and admire our designs, while you did the not-so-fun parts like cleaning the screen, washing the utensils and picking up after me. You would make a wonderful art teacher!   

Now to figure out what to make with all my beautiful screen printed pieces of fabric...

Feature Site: Turn a Sonogram into Art

A new website launched today, that allows you to turn a sonogram into a timeless piece of art. What a cool idea! Wouldn't this make a great baby gift or wall hanging for expectant parents?

At mysonogramart.com you can customize your own ultrasound print in 3 steps. Upload your photo (or mail a CD), select your choice of paper, canvas or metal, along with color, texture and style, then proceed to checkout. Your order will be shipped to you. The best part - they offer 13 sizes to choose from, starting at 8x10 inches ($40) through 60x80 inches ($650). Talk about a conversation piece!

Mysonogramart.com is a production of local talent at Booksmart Studio Inc., Rochester, NY. They offer a wide range of book publishing, fine edition printing, workshops and printing supplies. If you're in the market for best in class photography printing, including fine art metals, or an exquisite gift, check out both sites. Mention you read about it on Sohl Design.

P.S.
This is a sonogram sample from the website (it's not mine). No Baby announcement here. Sorry if I got your hopes up! I would like to get one of these sonogram prints, when the time comes (whenever that may be).