Friday, May 6, 2011

The screenprinting nun





Some cool screenprints by Sister Mary Corita Kent are now on display at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco. (Thanks to Henrik for the tip, and for doing pro bono screenprinting work at the opening!)
Sister Corta studied under Charles Eames and later taught in (and eventually chaired) the art department at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. She's best known for creating the "Love" stamp for the US Postal Service in 1985, but the earlier work on display here is even better at showing her strong graphic style as well as her sense of social justice.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Trona, CA




At the western edge of the Mojave Desert, Trona, California is situated along Searles Dry Lake, one of the many dry lakes that remain from the time when much of California was an inland sea. As one would expect, it's rich in minerals, particularly borax and potash. Back in the 19th century, borax was brought out of the Mojave on wagons pulled by twenty-mule teams. Like any good American, I had the image of those wagons imprinted on my consciousness forever thanks to the ads for "20-Mule Team Borax" cleanser that ran on TV in my childhood. The Trona Pinnacles are calcium carbonate (tufa) formations that were left behind when the sea evaporated.

Visalia, CA