Slow Process Block Printing

Block printing research

Trade- 15th century trade between Europe and asia. English east india company

woods typically used 2-3 inches thick

• shina- easy to cut
• birch plywood- for beginners
• solid cherry- very hard and holds fine details
• maple- for detail
• lime
• sycamore
• pear wood

motifs used-

paisley–

• persian origin
• popular in the 18th and 19th century
• east india trading company made paisley and indian patterns popular
• means strength, resistance, modesty, life, and eternity

flower–

• late 18th century
• high fashion in Europe
• could wear flowers that weren’t available to them
• beauty and eroticism
• china printed floral calendars

chintz-

• English traders sent designs to India that were better suited for English taste
• dark tones and outlined petals and stems
• large vases of flowers
• pondicherry and bengal exported indiennes

palampore-

• tree of life
• bed  hangings for the west
• used in womens dresses and mens banyans

jardinier-

• derived from indian and european herbals

India block printing-

• resist dye printing
• mud (resist) made from clay, lime and fermented wheat and they sift it with their bare feet through muslin
• after put in dye vat

 

artist using hand processes 

Block Shop Textiles-

Two sisters, Lily and Hopie stockman run a textile studio.They use hand carved wooden blocks from Bagru, Rajasthan, for block printing and they use vegetable and mineral dyes. They also get their fabric woven y two families in Jaipur and Panipat.

Block Shop Instagram

 

Material Sourced-

Lumber-  free wood on the street

Gum Arabic- ( is a natural gum consisting of the hardened sap of various species of the acacia tree)- online

Tools- tool crib

muslin- classroom

Tools-

tools used from tool crib to carve block

Drawing of tool made and object made

what is the value of your time?

The value of my time is important as it determines what I accomplish. I treat it as something that I can’t get back and want to enjoy myself while accomplishing things as well. The slow process was nice to experience as it allowed me to focus more on the materials I was using and being aware of what the materials do. It is much more difficult to do than I had previously thought. Making this wood block made me realize the great amount skill that goes into making the block and encouraged me to work on my own abilities and skills. As I move forward I would research the processes I use more as there is something to learn from it but since time moves quickly and theres so much to do I would use already made materials that have been made to be used for the process at least but definitely explore my own creativity in doing it myself.

log of hours spent-

oct. 24- 2-4:30 library

oct.29- 2-3:30

oct. 31- 2- 3:30

nov.5-2-3:30

nov.7- 2-3

nov.14- 1hr cut wood into 3 pieces

nov.25- 1hr

nov. 26- 2-3:30

nov. 28- 2-4

dec. 3- 2-4

Process-

These images show the tools i used to carve the block and a side by side comparison of my 1st attempt and the 2nd block after it was cut with a machine. the red dye is made from  berries and i left them on the stove so the sugar crystallizes and becomes syrupy. the yellow is turmeric, water, and gum arabic although the powder of the tumeric seemed to not have dissolved. both of theses dyes where block printed with the raw lumber with no carvings.

these images are of my 2nd attempt at carving the block and it was much better having a smooth surface. i painted the blocks with acrylic paint so that the ink is not absorbed by the block. my set up included of a strip of muslin and an ink pad made from a sponge and tray.

 

These images are of an ink made from Turmeric power and gum tragacanth and it was the most successful out of all of them.

these images are of potato block printing using the previous ink as well.

This was my attempt at making ink by thickening it with cornstarch and it worked but i didnt add enough turmeric. The consistency was good.

The top image is when i used gelatin to thicken the ink but it was too watery when hot and when it cooled to room temperature it was like Jello so i couldn’t use it.

ALL SAMPLES MADE-

images of raw lumber print. left with turmeric and gum arabic. right berries natural ink.

photograph of completed project

 Image of 1st carved block. Top sample is turmeric with gum tragacanth. Bottom sample is turmeric with gum arabic.

2nd carved block. top sample is turmeric with gum arabic and bottom sample is turmeric with gum tragacanth.

Instructional sheet-

 

skill share day-

 

 

 

proposal for skill sharing

i would like to share the skill of making your own ink for block printing

block print

block

13th–14th century. Attributed to India; Found Fustat, Egypt. Cotton; block-printed and mordant-dyed, 8.5 in. high 6.00 in. wide (21.6 cm high 15.2 cm wide). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bottom: Fig. 2a, b. Fragment (front [left], reverse [right]), 13th–14th century. Attributed to India. Islamic. Cotton; block-printed and resist-dyed, 6.62 in. high 10.00 in. wide (16.8 cm high 25.4 cm wide). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,

Date

ca. 1790 (designed)

Place

England (printed)

Materials & Techniques

Block-printed cotton

Unknown, India

Date

First half 19th century

Place

India

Philadelphia Museum of Art

slow process proposal

block print with vegetables

object to recreate would be popular textile prints

desinger/ artist using such processes are

MOLLY MAHON 

• BLOCK PRINTED TEXTILES AND PAPER TRADITIONAL METHOD / WOOD

lotta helleberg

• BLOCK PRINTING USING NATURAL DYE
• BLOCK PRINTING USING NATURAL BLOCKS SUCH AS LEAVES AND PLANT

BLOCK SHOP TEXTILES

BLOCK PRINTING INDIA

MATERIALS

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS – FARMERS MARKET

DYE- USE A SIMILAR RECIPE

* RECIPE FROM LOTTA HELLEBERG IS

• WALNUT AND LOGWOOD (COLOR)
• GUM POWDER
• TRAGACANTH GUM ( THICKNER MADE FROM GUAR BEANS)

CARVING TOOL

 

Block 4 project fast fashion PDF

Block 4 Completed Checklist 88

20 hrs of community service

i volunteered for stock the pantry, la food bank, and tree people. what i did in stock the pantry was sort food in a warehouse in order to make enough space for new to be brought in. other days i would package produce in small plastic bags so that they could be placed in food bags that would be given to people throughout the week. in la food bank it was similar but it was much bigger. we were split into big groups and i went with the group that was to sort and decide whether the food was edible or not. it was inside a giant walk in fridge so it was very cold but once we started working it wasn’t so bad. in tree people we planted trees in small groups and the step were simple but it was a lot of labor especially with the heat. we planted pink trumpet trees and the other day it was African sumac.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3110 Final

 

this course has influenced the way i interact with clothing as making me more conscience of what goes into making clothing and the high cost of it. it causing damage to people i a foreign country as well as the environment. even before this class i wasn’t constantly shopping for clothing and i would shop more at thrift stores and this class makes me want to stay in that route. This class also taught me that building a campaign or even just to raise awareness about an issue within a small community is difficult. There are many factors and work that goes behind simple videos and ideas. i also learned that there are many ways to re purpose a t-shirt and its better to try to up cycle clothing and be resourceful since fashion is becoming wasteful, especially with fast fashion. As a fashion major it makes me think of how i can make a positive impact with clothing and not add to the problem. this class also gave me a taste of how collaborations within the community could involve clothing and new ways of using it and communicating with it.

as far as the clothing supply chain it makes me wary when i think about stores like H&M and forever 21 which are fast fashion stores. whether or not they still take advantage of cheap and cruel labor overseas. being able to contribute to campaigns against this i think is important and helpful in bringing awareness to the problem to the masses. i also learned that communication in the supply chain is difficult since they might say they are doing things right and are up to code but with the long distance between overseas factories and home there could be things the manufacturers could be hiding. reading labels about where clothing is  made and researching companies is a way to stay informed and connected to where your clothing has been and gone through before it reaches you.

SENIOR EXHIBIT

i chose this one because of its presence and because it looks like it could be someones costume in a movie or stage. i like the different fabrics and how they added rhinestones.

poster tshirt

postersahirts

 

poster for leotard

janefondaposterrreal

3 artists

1.) 3 artists designers working today will go down in history

2.) how do you think they will be remembered and for what object idea or design

1.) Banksy- i think he will be remembered for making street art valuable and making it popular in todays culture as well as making it respectable. He will be remembered for his stenciled art work on walls that is a reflection of a time in history or a problem that is going on. He will also be remembered for keeping his identity a secret and bringing out the curiosity of people. The idea of being an anonymous artists.

2.) marina debris- she is an artist who reuses trash found on the beach to make her art which is wearable at times. She makes dresses out of found object that have been washed up and makes the statement of reusing what is considered trash as well as cleaning up the beaches. She will be remembered for her idea of reusing what we already have especially moving forward as consumerism is rising and the need to buy and buy is a big part of american culture. there is a lot of waste and damage we make to the environment so i could only imagine it becoming worse which is why i think she will be remembered in the future.

3.) anne hardy- i think she will be remembered for