September 8th, 2011

August 10th, 2011

Screen Rental $15/day
Emulsion Sheet $10/single sheet
Ink $5 1oz bottle (various colors, prepared in studio)
Transparency $2/sheet
Screen Tape $2/screen

Studio Policies when using the Yudu:

*Use the Yudu at your own risk!!! Using the Yudu in our studio does not include assistance from our staff members. You must be comfortable using the machine independently. We highly recommend you take a class from us first before trying it out yourself. Private lessons are available at $35 per hour.

*Supply prices do not include the cost of studio rental.

*Screen rental is limited to in-studio use only.

* If screen is left for more than 3 days, your image will be cleared off.

*Images cannot be prepared using U.C.C computers, nor can they be printed using our printers. Transparency prints can be made at Kinkos or similar copy centers.

*Any questions can be emailed to Rhea at studio@theurbancraftcenter.com

December 16th, 2010

Thinking back to our Kid’s Camp over summer, I can’t wait for this time around! I’m hoping we’ll see some familiar faces from last time, and new friends too, of course! Even though the week was a sticky vortex of glitter, glue, and googly eyes, I know I speak for all of us at The UCC when I say it was one of our favorite endeavors to date. There are few things cooler than seeing kids genuinely excited about making things. It’s inspiring to have students so eager to learn what we’re teaching, and to see how their imaginations make it their own. The crafts we’ll be doing with the kids this month are some of my personal favorites, and I can’t wait to see the kids creations and learn a thing or two from them in the process. If you’d like more information about the day camp, you can download our December class schedule or simply give us a call. Happy Holidays, stay crafty!

November 24th, 2010

Lil’ Craft Camp
Level: Beginners ages 4-7
Monday, December 20th – Thursday, December 23rd, 11am-2pm
Four session class, materials included.
$245 for the week

Monday: Hand-crafted Nature Wands, Pressed Flower Necklaces, & Finger-knitting
Using slender sticks of sycamore and willow we will create our own bubble-making wands from copper wire wrapped with beautiful yarns. (Includes making your own bubble solution and decorating it’s container)
We will also read the beautifully illustrated children’s story “The Willow Maiden” and then create necklaces from willow wood, pressed flowers, ferns, and hemp string. Children will take home their wands and necklaces in beautiful handmade linen bags which they will finger knit straps for.

Tuesday: Candle-making and Children’s Tibetan Prayer Flags
Using sheets of beeswax in natural shades made from plant-based colorants, children will create a set of their own candles embellished with beautiful designs. (*No flame, heat, or melting is involved.)
Then using merino wool felt wool, children will design, sew, and embellish their own “prayer flags”. This activity is loosely based on elements found in traditional Tibetan prayer flags, touching upon the idea that the “Wind Horse” will carry the images and messages on the flags (centered around peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom) into the surrounding space and to all beings. Thich Nat Hanh’s beautiful children’s book “Hermit and the Well” will accompany this activity.

Wednesday: Soap & Mold Making
Children will experience the excitement, joy, and satisfaction of making their own soaps! First we will create our own molds by pressing an array of materials into a flexible re-usable putty. Then using a melt and pour goat’s milk base, we will create all-natural delicious smelling soaps using organic herbs and spices, cosmetic grade french clays, and plant-based colorants. Each child will create one mold and 2-3 bars of soap, as well as wrapping and labeling their soaps. (*As the soap base is a melt and pour one, no lye or other harsh chemicals are being used or handled and there will be adult assistance in pouring the melted soap base into molds.)

Thursday: Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Using Vietnamese rice paper, and an array of colorful vegetables and herbs, we will make our own Vietnamese spring rolls, complete with dipping sauce. Children will enjoy the sculptural feel of the rice paper as it soaks in warm water, smelling the aromatic herbs, tearing and cutting the brightly-colored veggies, and tasting the fruits of their labor! They will also decorate a set of reusable chopsticks, and a carrying container for their finished spring rolls. (*No cooking is involved and the ingredients are all vegetarian. There is an option for sweet and sour sauce in case of peanut allergies. The children will use butter knives to cut the veggies.)

Meet the Instructor: Nicole Ichtertz
Nicole was trained as an artist and has been teaching art to children for the past 3 years. She lives in Redondo Beach, and is a volunteer handwork assistant at two local Waldorf schools. She currently teaches knitting, weaving, and embroidery to children ages 4-11. Through a friend, she discovered the art of soap making and has taught workshops to children and adults to create uniquely beautiful molds and soaps using objects from nature.

August 10th, 2010

Last week, Victoria and I had the amazing opportunity to teach Zine and Screenprinting workshops at the first annual Rock ‘N Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles.

Over 50 girls ages 8-17 formed bands, wrote their own songs, learned how to and played all their own instruments and had a finale performance at the Troubador this past Saturday. Camp directors Mona and Becky were amazing leaders, along with a group of talented and accomplished female volunteers. One volunteer instructor was Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile, a Riot Grrrl whose music, zines and presence in Olympia was super influential to me and my growth as an artist.

The girls were split into two groups depending on their ages. In our zine workshop they created a collaborative zine that was passed out to each girl at the end of camp. In our screenprinting workshop, each band designed their own logo and we created contact paper stencils that we then attached to screens and printed in their favorite colors. Lucky for you, the entire week was documented and you can watch the wrap up video by clicking on the link below!

Rock and Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles

November 12th, 2009

(photo credit: Becky Sapp)

A lot of the crafters I’ve met first learned the importance of handmade skills when they were kids. Cheryl grew up in the Nebraska Sandhills, where she was taught by her family to crochet and sew at the ripe old age of four. She comes from a long line of crafters who seem to create magical environments within the sand dunes and prairie landscape. In the 1950s, Cheryl’s uncle took apart television sets and made dioramas out of them to put all around the house.

That imagination has certainly been passed along. After teaching workshops at Machine Project in Echo Park (including the talking amigurumi yeti in the photo), she was invited to take part in their show at LACMA. Cheryl crocheted 101 little birds at the LACMA entrance, and one gigantic crochet bird, nearly 5 feet tall, to sit beside his hanging friends. The event included an ongoing crochet workshop where Cheryl taught nearly a hundred people how they too could use their hands to create a magical creature for their world.

Cheryl came to The Urban Craft Center to add a few new skills to her repertoire. She’s picked up quilting, spinning and screen printing over the past couple of months. I am quite fond of her Yeti cards from our Yudu class. Adorable little beast, no? This design is a continuation of an image Cheryl created and had made into fabric. She’s started an Etsy shop, you can see it here, with more great items coming soon. For more information about Cheryl Cambras and her work, visit her website.

November 5th, 2009

You may have noticed that The Urban Craft Center makes an appearance in the newest infomercial for Yudu screen printing. If you are wondering how you can use the Yudu in our space or what materials we have for sale, read on!

If you already know how to use the Yudu, without help from one of our instructors, you can purchase studio time at our regular hourly, daily or membership rates . This gives you access to the Yudu machine, materials are sold separately. If you would like instruction, we offer scheduled classes for $85, or individual private lessons for $35/hour. Please call us for private lesson group rates.

Materials available for in-studio use:
Screen Rental: 1 screen (110 mesh) $15/day, maximum 3 day rental
Emulsion Sheet: $10/single sheet
Ink: $8/bottle
Transparency: $2/sheet
Screen Tape: $2/screen

We sell many of the Yudu materials in our retail store such as; emulsion sheets, screens and ink. We will have Yudu machines for sale soon.

Give us a call if you have any questions, or if you’d like to sign up for a class!

September 15th, 2009

We are very excited to hold our first YUDU Screen Printing class this Thursday, September 17th from 4-6pm. While we will always have a very special place in our hearts for the now discontinued Gocco printing machines, the YUDU is a crafter’s new answer to accessible screen printing techniques.

This past weekend, Leyna Roget visited the studio to use the YUDU to make t-shirts for a charity event. Leyna is the Executive Producer for the production company iNDIGO PROJECT and the charity event was a special joint effort with the CHALK4PEACE community council.

Check out the photos from her project here in the studio!