Printing the Background, Epic Failure

Registration

Flooding the Screen

1st print. What happened? 

2nd print, still not so good

More ink?

3rd print, still messy borders. What's going on? anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Cutting the Stencils

The first cuts

Not sure if I did these right, guess I'll find out soon!

Paper Stencils, begin at the beginning

So I think I will start with paper stencils. I have a brief understanding about how to do this, based on my beloved Speedball Dvd. As a photographer, naturally, I prefer using my own photographs. So I downloaded some from my flickr that I took of bath houses on the Isle of Wight in 2005. For my first screen printing experience, I wanted to concentrate on color application, so I thought these photographs would be the perfect starting place.

So, I converted them to B&W so I could make the stencils. I printed out all three, not knowing which one I wanted yet. I think it will be the one on the right or the one on the bottom. Which ever one I pick, I think I need to print 3 out, to make 3 stencils, if I want to use 3 colors. I hope I'm doing this right!

Tapeing up the Screen, and watching the video...again!

tapeing up the screen

And watching the Speedball instructional DVD for the 3rd time! I'm the type of learner who needs to learn by watching & doing. 

All taped up!

Sadly, my screen tapeing job looks nothing like the one on the dvd.

Setting up the Screen

Today's agenda, illustrated with memos & photos:

The Kit

Opened up!

More Supplies

What do I do? How do I attach? Yeah right :(

Clinton looks through the instruction manual to help me put the frame together

Might as well be French to me.

Luckily, Clinton knows, and helps me

Attaching hinges

Glass Studio is now turning into printing studio (not really)

Finished!

Interview Questions

Here are the questions I sent to several artist. teachers, and artist-teacher. If anyone else want's to participate in these questions, please contact me at k.malonesmith@gmail.com

Interview questions:

1.     What family and early influences have you had as an artist? (Your parents, relatives, a special teacher?)

2.     When did you first get interested in art?

3.     What was your professional training in art?

4.     Where and what was your first art teaching position?

5.     What art form is your specialty?

6.     Where/How/When did you learn screen-printing?

7.     How have you taught screen-printing (where, when, and in what techniques and ways)?

8.     What advice do you have for me as far as teaching screen-printing to middle school students?

Reasons for this Study, Part 2

There are several specific, technical and process driven things I want to know as I start into the art-making portion of the research project next week. The main thing I want to know is how I can be proficient enough in my skills in screen-printing to be able to teach it to my students. This is evident in my quest for qualitative research that “questions the process by which events and activities and their outcomes occurred” (Maxwell, p.75). When I did my pre-service teaching over three years ago, I was amazed that my cooperating teacher, who had over 30 years experience in teaching art, admitted that she sometimes had to learn something first, so that she could teach it to her students. For some reason, I had it in my head that art educators had to know about every art form right from the get go. In some ways, art educators are jack-of-all-trades. But now I know this isn’t always the case. With new art forms emerging all the time, art educators can’t always stay on top of every art form and every new methodology for teaching. But we can however, choose the ones that will be relevant to our teaching and our students. I feel that based on my passion to learn screen-printing, along with the exciting history of the art and the relevancy to graphic arts today, this is a good fit for my self as well as my student population.

            As the art based research is a relatively new aspect of research projects, it is exciting to be part of something that is new. I like how arts based research isn’t just a selfish, although necessary wish to create art, it also links to education. This link is imperative as it makes the research more valid to others including student population. “Those who promote this approach see the arts as compromising a set of practices that helps broaden the way we understand things and thus can be used to expand how information is gathered and represented” (Sullivan, p.xiii). Furthermore, it can affect big themes in education theory and practice.  “In mapping an agenda for educational inquiry, most arts-based researchers in the United States locate new directions within the domains of education and social sciences” (p. xvii). As far as practice in screen-printing, it is an art form that has been around for centuries, but has been most recently been a household word and art form from exposure of artists such as Andy Warhol and Shepard Fairey. Again, relevancy to modern culture plays a part here, where students can grasp the immediacy of visual culture arts education.

            To start with my arts based research, I will be looking for texts and articles to learn more about screen-printing. This includes history of the art along with procedural information and theoretical writings. I would also like to interview screen-printing artists, students and teachers. I feeling like this will give me a practical background with invaluable information. I often find that knowledgeable people are often one of the best sources of information as their experiences are valid, passionate and primary. Much of the study will include the process of the art making. I anticipate some mistakes and successes, all which I will record and learn from. This open-ended approach is unpredictable, yet unpredictability and surprise is part of any learning process. Memos along with photographs and possibly video footage will all be collected during the process. As I will be an involved participator, I will be “the research instrument in a qualitative study, and (my) eyes and ears are the tools (I) will use to make sense of what is going on” (Maxwell, p.79).

            Objectivity is an important aspect of validity in research design. This conclusive factor of validity includes “how well you weave together your descriptions, reflections and critical analyses” (McNiff & Whitehead, p. 31). To stay objective through the interview process of the research, triangulation is important. This is to approach a subject that you are researching from all angles so that all sides of the story, so to speak are covered and examined. It can help “provide additional information that was missed in observation, and can be used to check the accuracy of the observations” (Maxwell, p. 94). Another piece of objectivity is to try to stay un-biased. This can be tricky, as I will bring into my research my own opinions, background and prior knowledge into the research. My experience with screen-printing at summer camp, as well as at the MTA conference will connect be a part of my prior knowledge, feelings and opinions about the study. Although this isn’t necessarily a detrimental aspect to the research, it does need to be looked at for objectivity. Maxwell explains further:

Qualitative research is not primarily concerned with eliminating variance between researchers in the values and expectations they bring to the study, but with the understanding how a particular researcher’s values and expectations influence thee conduct and conclusions of study (which may be either positive or negative) and avoiding the negative consequences (p. 108).

           

References

Maxwell, J. (2005). Qualitative research design: an interactive approach. (2nd ed., Vol.

41, pp. 1-116). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

McNiff, W. & Whitehead, J. (2009). Doing and writing action research. (1st ed., pp. 7-

126). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Sullivan, G. (2005). Art practice as research, inquiry in the visual arts. (pp. xi-xxii).

Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. 

Reasons for this Study, Part 1

My main personal goal for my arts based research in screen-printing is to learn a new art form for the benefit of my artistic development as well as the benefit for my students. I will be taking an arts approach, which includes action research. Action research includes showing the “situation as it is and as it unfolds” (McNiff & Whitehead, p.12). I will be learning, researching and creating art as an active participator.

            I anticipate some struggle in learning the screen-printing process. This will be included as an important part of the research. It is important as it emulates the struggles that students may have learning a new art form. It is also valuable to have set backs, as this is how I will know what to change in the future.

My own experience in screen-printing will be a factor of influence in my research. Personal experiences and ties to the research topic are a crucial part of the research as it can “provide you with a valuable source of insight, theory, and data about the phenomena you are studying” (Maxwell, p. 19).

I have had only brief experiences with screen-printing. The first one was at a summer camp when I was maybe 11 or so. I was at the art camp on scholarship, and therefore was only allowed to be there half the time as the other campers. I signed up for screen-printing but was told I couldn’t make any thing big or involved, because I had missed half of camp. I ended up making a small pin, and being extremely envious and disappointed as I watched the other campers make large posters and t-shirts. The second screen-printing experience was last summer at a MTA conference in Williamstown, MA. This experience was exciting as it had been so long since that disappointing experience in summer camp. The workshop offered was only a few hours and made me want to explore screen-printing more thoroughly. With screen-printing in the back of my mind all of these years, the Arts Approach to the research project will afford me the opportunity to fulfill my desire to learn this art as well as learn how to teach it to my students.

  Memos will be an essential part of the action research project. Memos include notes that are taken as they happen, reflections, data and self-critique. I imagine I will be taking memos before, during and after each experience when I am in the art making stages of the research. It is important to take good, organized and accurate memos to make them “so that the observations and insights can easily be accessed for further examination” (Maxwell, p.13).  As a visual documenter, I imagine many of my memos will be in the form of photographs and sketches, along with notes and journal entries. Memos will be the primary source for my research as they are taken directly at the time of the art making. This becomes an invaluable tool for the core of the research.

 The purpose of research design is to create research “in which the components work harmoniously together” (Maxwell, p.2). Goals, conceptual frameworks, research questions, methods and validity are all part of a structured research design. Each one of these facets interacts with each other facet, which brings to life the research as a whole. This model also includes additional factors, for example personal experiences or environment, as research design needs to include the researcher’s point of view and personal factors. Maxwell (p.19) agrees that recognizing your personal ties to the study you want to conduct can provide you with a valuable source of insight, theory, and data about the phenomena you are studying”. An important aspect to remember is that research design should be non-linear. Facets will work off and influence other facets. Facets will be revisited and re-examined. This model “treats research design as a real entity, not simply an abstraction or plan” (p.2).

References

Maxwell, J. (2005). Qualitative research design: an interactive approach. (2nd ed., Vol.

41, pp. 1-63). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

McNiff, W. & Whitehead, J. (2009). Doing and writing action research. (1st ed., pp. 7-

28). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

A day at the Dolphin Studios

Part of my research includes spending a day working in a screen-printing studio. I spend a day at the Dolphin Studio, which is housed at Alchemy Initiative in Pittsfield, MA. Special thanks to Sophie & Crispina for making this happen and thanks to Pat for teaching me so much about screen-printing.

My memos from the day:


The Dolphin Studio produces about 2,000 calendars each year.
Custom Colors.
Entire calendar has to be under 1lb for shipping efficiency.
Ink=Acrylic
Registering is essential!
Register first under the screen with the sketch-up so you can see what you are doing.
Register corners.
It is important to use rulers, t-squares & straight edges.
Be precise!
Nail polish as a blocker, I thought it was color inspiration!
Extender base & water added to it & second bucket make more ink.
The spatula is a great tool to scrape off ink off sides of ink buckets.
The Dolphin Studio prints each month in 2 colors, although, 1 month is just 1 color.
Lots of wet rags, got to keep everything clean!
Clean the screen!