In March 2020 I was working a freelance job in lower Manhattan, simultaneously dealing with some seasonal allergies. After receiving the most violent glare outside a Panera after sneezing into my elbow I decided the tension in the air was too high to risk coming into a physical building. That day I asked to work from home the rest of the week. By that Friday all offices had shut down and EVERYONE was officially work from home. By the following week I was asked if I was ok with a lesser paycheck until the world sorted itself out. I refused and as a result my hours were severely cut down. As I often pick up a hobby in times of worldwide and personal panic, I decided to take up screen printing.
I wanted to make a bandana as they were quickly gaining popularity and easy to buy in bulk. I started with an illustration in Procreate, using covid symbolism as inspiration.
The screen printing process was a lot of trial and error. I had a negative made from a small delivery service but after several emulsion attempts I realized I didn't have the appropriate artificial lighting, and living in Brooklyn I couldn't get enough consistent brightness to time the burn appropriately. After a week and a half of frustration I just ordered a fully burned in frame.
My next challenge was my incredibly small and crooked apartment. After 15 attempts on my free sidewalk kitchen table I could not get a flat enough surface to get the paint to spread evenly at all. Fortunately, I managed to fit the design on precisely one square of tile on my kitchen floor without overlapping the grout. After a month of trial and error I finally had some success. I hung up a clothesline from my alley facing window to the pot rack above the stove, started printing 10 bandanas in a day. In a week I had about 50 completed bandanas.
I was able to then sell them, mostly to my friends and family who I greatly appreciate.
Since starting and ending this project we went through an election, witnessed and took part in nationwide protests, developed and distributed a vaccine, and offices are currently slowly opening back up (with the concern of many still worried about their own safety.) I personally gained two new nephews, found a better (thankfully somewhat bigger) apartment, and was able to return to working from home at a consistent pace.
This keepsake is one I'll hold on to. I enjoyed taking on this project, I learned a lot about the screen printing process and found a way to deal with all the collective stress of the world by making something by hand.
Thanks for looking!
