Logo Designs

Andy Warhol's most famous pieces were his commercial work using logo designs. He tackled each logo in different ways. Some stenciled, some screen printed, and some painted by hand. These became some of his more well-know works. Among his most notable were his Campbell's soup cans. He also experimented with Brillo Pad boxes, Corn Flake boxes, and gas station logos.

I decided to attempt my own version of Warhol's logo designs. I chose a logo (the apple computer logo), and I repeated it using a stencil process. Once I finished stenciling, I began adding to it using colored pencil, and marker. Its not my best, but it was an interesting experience. I have also been workong on a few more and will post those pictures as soon as possible.

The Last of the Linoleum Prints

I tried one last linoleum print. I don't feel this batch turned out so well. I think the ink I was using was going bad because it was too thick. I printed about six of them and I was not getting any that were up to my standards. See what you think. This one was probably the best of the bunch.

More Prints

I tried another linoleum block. Here's a picture of the latest prints. I am also in the process of cutting one more.

Block Printing

Linoleum block is considered a forms of relief print. It involves inking a raised surface and stamping that image onto a ground. Although Warhol never used linoleum block, it still falls under the general heading of "printmaking" so I cut one. It began with a block that is about 13"x13". Of course, I have to be complicated and remove the negative space. Needless to say, this print took me some time. I printed in an Andy Warhol style and did twelve prints on 14"x14" paper. I was really pleased with the finished product.

Warhol often took the same image repeating it over and over changing things just slightly to make each print different and unique. What drew Warhol to printmaking was the industrial feel and some of the imperfections caused by the printing process. As you can see, no two are the same.

Print Comparision

After looking at these prints side by side, I realized how closely related they are to Warhol's work. For example, Warhol took an image and created a screen for printing. Over and over he printed the same image using different color combinations and placement. The result, several different prints, all resembling the original picture, but tackled in a multitude of different ways (see Marilyn paintings). My oxidation prints are much the same. I began with similar looking prints, and changed them into two totally different peices using the same materials. The outcome is two completely different pieces that began the same.

Second Oxidation Print

I finished my second oxidation print! This one took some time as you can see.

Fine Arts Festival

Last week I was completely consumed by coordinating the Fine Arts Festival for the School I work for. In the past our department (which is comprised of Band, Drama, Choir, and Art) have had separate shows, and performances to showcase our students. This year we decided to combine them into one festival.

I spent the week leading up to the festival sorting supplies, tagging artwork, coordinating help, and making signs. We had drama, band, and chior performances, traveling mimes, student demonstrations, artwork displays, hands on activities, and even food. It was really quite involved.

The Festival turned out to be a complete success. I learned quite a bit from this experience. First, I realized how interested the community actually is in the Arts, and how important it is to many of our students. Second, I was able to tie this experience to some of Warhol's work. Warhol wanted more than anything for people to notice and recognize his work. He thrust his work in gallery after gallery, in order to showcase his talent and get noticed. In a sense, we as teachers were showing off our students' talents to get our program noticed and promote growth in our discipline. Third, I realized that how helpful some of my students really were when given a meaningful task.