The Making Of A DIY Video

           A few weeks ago I was approached by Opus Framing And Art Supplies about possibly participating in a Do It Yourself video for their series of online guides- the topic was block printing. A few things you may or may not know about me- I love attention- shocking right? When I worked at Opus on Granville Island I would sign up for as many in store demos as I possibly could- aside from the change of pace I loved having all eyes on me. I do enjoy performing- possibly I'm a natural born ham.

        Another thing you might not know about me is that I love to teach- not in a conventional classroom setting- but teaching in a more hands on manner- skills that people will get excited about and utilize in their own life. Hence why I started holding my own screen and block printing classes out of my studio- it's a great way to get other people in the studio in a non- overwhelming manner. Often people are intimidated at the thought of cracking open those art supplies or even stepping into the art store- I like to consider my classes a gateway to art.

         At any rate last Friday found me heading to the downtown location of Opus Framing And Art Supplies where I met with Julia Dilworth from 24 Hours- she has her own weekly DIY section in Thursday's edition- chock full of great ideas! We had plenty to chat about right off the bat- we both like to make things so it was a natural connection. We were working with a couple of lovely folks from Opus' head office- Ryan and Crissy who are both pros- they set us at ease as we stepped in front on the camera to begin filming- I could not have asked for a more fun and positive group!

       The idea of the video is for me to tech Julia how to block print- she was a newbie and I was the "expert" which we had a good chuckle about all day. I may have block printed many times before but this was in fact one of my first times trying out the Gamblin Relief Inks*- which were amazing! So in addition to teaching Julia and the viewers about block printing I also learned about a fantastic new (to me) product. I love the feel of rolling out the oil based Gamblin Inks- the heavy pigment load which affords a deep and rich colour- not to mention the beautiful fine detail that the ink picks up.

      This was definitely a wonderful experience for me- not only did I love meeting a bunch of new people but I had a great time playing with some new art supplies in front of the camera- sort of like the perfect storm! The video should be up online in the next week or so- I will most definitely link to it here on the blog - I am so excited and proud of what we made! A big thank you to Crissy, Ryan and Julia for a great day as well as the staff of Opus Downtown for hosting us- and sharing your freezies!

* Gamblin Relief Inks- so for the lovely nerdy folks who are wondering what makes oil based inks so special - oil is more of a traditional printing ink- it is heavily pigmented which affords rich colour- making it perfect to print of fabric with as there is no need to heat set. Gamblin is a small company from Portland where paint and inks are still made in small batches- meaning super high quality control- these guys make a beautiful product!