Archive for the 'All Things Art' Category

Compulsory Education

Published at 20 November 2006 in All Things Art. 1 Comment

Salem Psalms, Ümlaut Press, and Needed Touch presents…

Compulsory Education

The latest collaboration from Ümlaut Press, Salem Psalms, and Needed Touch recycles one of America’s finest propaganda films, “Reefer Madness,” with the audio stylings of Amond Jackson.

Watch Compulsory Education now!

Compulsory Education is also available for download in the following formats:

I Always Wanted to do This…

Published at 30 April 2006 in All Things Art, Entertainment and Links. 0 Comments

Now this would be fun! I seem to remember having dreams like this back in 1986 when I got my first NES… And the kids at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts have realized these dreams…

Check out this video from their talent show on Gorilla Mask…

This is probably the best performance art I’ve seen all year…

24 Hours and More…

Published at 3 April 2006 in All Things Art and Tallahassee Events. 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I reprinted a post announcing the FSU ASL’s 24-hour Comics Event… Well, it has come and gone, but don’t despair if you missed it… You can find out how it all went down and check out the pictures on event organizer SJ Robert’s blog.

Being the first 24 Hour Comics Event at FSU, this one was a success, even warranting a mention on the Official 24 Hour Comics Blog. Ten hearty souls, surviving on grilled cheese, onion rings, and soda, made it through the entire 24 hours. The event netted over 240 pages of comics goodness that will be available soon for your perusal…

Great job, Shaun! And see all y’all comix-heads at the next event!

Almost Famous

Published at 22 March 2006 in All Things Art and Technology. 1 Comment

podSALADOne step closer to fame… The Toner Transfer Plate Etching podcast is now available for download on iTunes. Alright, perhaps three steps from obscurity is closer to the truth… There are, afterall, over a million podcasts on iTunes, but hell, you can’t take my sunshine from me.

You can always just download it below, but if you’ve got iTunes, why not subscribe to podSALAD? If you don’t, why not download iTunes? It beats the hell out of Windows Media Player afterall…

Things To Do in Tallahassee…

Published at 14 March 2006 in All Things Art and Tallahassee Events. 0 Comments

Pulled this little gem off Other End of the Tube’s Vox Populi message board. It should be a good time, so if you’re around on March 24, why not head down to the Park Avenue Diner.

Heads up, Comix Heads!

Florida State University’s Art Students League is hosting it’s first ever “24 Hour Comics Challenge” at the Park Avenue Diner on campus.

Event is Thursday, March 23 from 6pm to Friday, March 24 at 7pm-Contestants are advised this is a marathon event!

“Understanding Comics” author Scott McCloud posited that averaging 1 page per hour, an artist should be able to produce a comic in 24 hours. Results of this challenge have been varied and many. The challenge is to create 24 pages of comic narrative (any styles, mediums, or genres accepted,Digital work also accepted.) in 24 hours. The trick comes in that this is an exercise in spontaneity, no pre-work can be done before the event begins. You can only think up your ideas and gather your materials. Minimum supplies will be available (paper, pencils) so you might just follow the boy-scout credo and BE PREPARED! Lights, rulers, markers, erasers, sharpeners, pillows, toothbrush, deodorant, whatever you might need, bring it! Contestants should plan to work at a size relative to 10 3/8″ x 15 3/4″ for reproduction purposes. All work will be collected and published in a black and white volume by the Art Students League for distribution on campus and elsewhere. Proceeds to go to the Shelter on Tennessee St. Jurors will read and select the three best works out of the completed submissions, Inquiries can be made to aslfsu@gmail.com. Formal rules and regulations and posters like the one attached are available if you’re interested in spreading the word.

Contestants will be occupying a section of the Park Avenue Diner for close to 25 hours. A 10 dollar fee for students/20 for non-students is required to pay for snacks, but contestants should be prepared to buy anything extra that they wish to consume. Park Avenue Diner has agreed to close a section off expressly for this event. Late Registration begins Thursday at 6:00 pm, contestants can begin as soon as they have checked in and set up. Pencils down at 7pm on Friday. See you there!

Originally posted at Vox Populi.

Toner Transfer Plate Etching

Published at 12 March 2006 in All Things Art. 2 Comments

I enjoy printmaking. Be it etching, silkscreen, or woodcut, I enjoy most every traditional method of printmaking. I also value the tools that technology has bestowed upon our modern world, despite the fact that technology will destroy us all. To that end, SJ Roberts and I began working with Press ‘n Peel laser transfer film. At $1.00 per sheet the film is far more affordable than Imagon or similar techniques. The transfer film allows you to print using a copy machine or laser printer, and acts as a resist during the etching process. Ths method works on both copper and zinc plates; however, my results have been consistently superior on copper.

If you want to try out this method, feel free to download the Instructions or the video demo. If you have any questions, make use of the Contact link above, and I’ll try and answer your questions if I can.

Toner Transfer Plate Etching Instructional PDF

Toner Transfer Instructional Video

  • Download AVI (10.6 MB)
    Download the AVI if you are using Windows Media Player.
  • Download Podcast (25.2 MB)
    Mac and iTunes users download the podcast.

Toner Transfer Plate Etching Method
Materials:

  • Press-n-Peel Blue Image Transfer Film (available from www.techniks.com)
  • Copper or Zinc Plate
  • Clothes Iron
  • Newsprint
  • Packaging tape and Paint Pen / Sharpie for touch-ups
  • Contact Paper

Preparation:

  • Use a photocopy machine or laser printer to print your image onto the dull side (emulsion) of Press-n-Peel Image Transfer Film. After printing, trim Press-n-Peel so it is about 1⁄4” larger than the printed image.
    • Line Art and Halftone images work best with this process, large areas of black will make it hard to clean the plate before printing.
    • Your transfer should be a negative image. The areas on the plate where the toner is transferred will not be affected by the acid and will thus become the areas of the print that will not receive ink.
  • Cut your plate so that it is about a half-inch larger on all sides than the image to be transferred. File the corners of the plate to round them. Be sure to remove all burrs left on the edge from cutting as they tend to prevent even contact between the heated surfaces and the transfer film.
  • Clean the plate and dry it with a lint free cloth.
  • Heat the iron to the “polyester” setting. Heat the hotplate to 325°, it is recommended that you put an extra piece of copper plate larger than the piece you will be transferring to on the hot plate so the plate will receive more even heat.

    • Transfer Method:

  • Place the copper plate you are transferring to on top of the heated plate on the hotplate. Allow the plate to heat for a minute or two.
  • Spray a light misting of water onto the dull side of the transfer film and lay the film onto the copper plate with the dull side facing down.
  • Place a piece of newsprint over the top and move the iron over the top to transfer the image.
    • Apply light pressure; too much pressure can damage the transfer.
    • It can take from 1 1/2 to 10 minutes for a complete transfer depending upon the thickness of copper you are using and the type of toner used by the laser printer or photocopy machine.
    • Lift the newsprint frequently to check the progress of the transfer; areas that have transferred appear as a darker blue than areas that have not been transferred.
  • Once the image has transferred remove the plate from the heat and immediately quench the backside (the side of the plate without the transfer film) with cold running water, this will help to prevent any remaining bubbles from affecting the image quality.
  • Gently peel the film from the copper plate while running cold water over the front of the plate, allowing water to run between the film and the copper speeds removal.

    • Touch-ups:

  • To remove small filled areas, cover the area with packaging tape, and remove. This will pull all unwanted filled areas off of the plate.
  • Blank spots that need to be protected from the acid during the etching process can be covered using a paint pen. The paint pen will resist acid like any other ground.

    • Etching:

  • Wash the board before etching to remove any surface oxidization. Cover the backside with contact paper to prevent the acid from etching it.
  • Etch with Ferric Chloride.
  • After etching the transfer film can be removed using a soap-free steel wool pad.