NEW YORK—Printmaking, handcrafted soaps, needle-felting, and art robots were among the curiosities presented at the 13th street block party on Saturday, part of Parson’s Festival 2011. Students and staff manned the booths between the Fifth and Sixth avenues, granting insight to the workings of Parson’s The New School for Design.
The printmaking department displayed T-shirts with designs printed using different techniques, such as stencil, wood block, and screen printing, also known as silk-screen printing. “They all have their innate beauty,” said Kelly, a technician on hand to help customers.
The shirts were sold for $10 each, with the proceeds going to disaster relief efforts in Japan. “The students felt that art could serve a purpose other than decorating people’s walls,” said printmaking teacher Bill Phipps.
The printmaking department halted regular classes for a week, while people from outside the classes helped printmaking students with the project. They were able to complete 200 shirts in one week, with free T-shirts, ink, and silk-screens coming from donors. Thermographic ink, which changes colors at different temperatures, was used on some of the shirts, producing a seemingly magical effect.
Teacher Laura Sansone stood by a large swath of local wool, sheared from alpaca and sheep, and recycled clothing “needle-felted” together. Everyone was encouraged to needle-felt a piece of wool onto the artwork with a sharp felting needle. “What you are doing is making fibers twist and interact with each other,” Sansone explained to a mother and her two children ready to partake in the activity.
The printmaking department displayed T-shirts with designs printed using different techniques, such as stencil, wood block, and screen printing, also known as silk-screen printing. “They all have their innate beauty,” said Kelly, a technician on hand to help customers.
The shirts were sold for $10 each, with the proceeds going to disaster relief efforts in Japan. “The students felt that art could serve a purpose other than decorating people’s walls,” said printmaking teacher Bill Phipps.
The printmaking department halted regular classes for a week, while people from outside the classes helped printmaking students with the project. They were able to complete 200 shirts in one week, with free T-shirts, ink, and silk-screens coming from donors. Thermographic ink, which changes colors at different temperatures, was used on some of the shirts, producing a seemingly magical effect.
Teacher Laura Sansone stood by a large swath of local wool, sheared from alpaca and sheep, and recycled clothing “needle-felted” together. Everyone was encouraged to needle-felt a piece of wool onto the artwork with a sharp felting needle. “What you are doing is making fibers twist and interact with each other,” Sansone explained to a mother and her two children ready to partake in the activity.
