Time Is Art...
and what You Do with Your Time Is Your Art...
ArJeiEmSi.
This are One of a Kind Tye Dye T-Shirts by ArJeiEmSi. With Bleach. This are the T-Shirts I sell as Artworks they all come with a sample of (3) "Stickers" of my Artwork.
"Word of Caution" working with "Bleach" its extremely Toxic and hazardous for your health, Please use Gloves and if you can a respirator, and always work in a ventilated area where there is open air passing through.
When I started do do the shirts I did not use any gloves, and I could make anywhere from 15-25 shirts before my hands could not stand the bleach anymore, after making the shirt I soak the shirt with water then I rub off the excess bleach with the water running, I felt my hands soapy because of the bleach, eventually I could not make any more shirts for a couple of days because my hands were with holes on my fingers blistered from the bleach.
I had to wait until my hands healed before I made any more shirts, I did this for about 3-4 times of making shirts, but every time had to wait for my hands to heal (if I had holes in my fingers, it would really hurt if I touch the bleach with my fingers) Later I found out the reason that my hands felt soapy was because the bleach was actually destroying my essential oils in my hands and fingers... After I learned that, I have never used this technique without making sure I had a good pair of gloves at all times making, handling, and soaking the shirts
This is a technique that I found in a book called D.I.Y. Design it Yourself Deck edited by Alissa Faden and Ellen Lupton, its not really a book but a collection of deck cards, that shows you different ways to do projects creatively. The technique showed how to apply writing with bleach to T-Shirts...
I had to modify the technique, because I got tired of my brushes disintegrating after 3 applications (3-T-Shirts) to use brushes make sure to use natural fibers, hair (really good quality hair brushes, camel hair, etc) So I decided to use different objects that were hard objects, preferably plastic, I started to use Kitchen Spoons, forks, knifes, (plastic) six-pack holders, fences, etc. anything that had an interesting shape that would work as a resistance to not allow the bleach to fall onto the Shirt.
Music "Caracol" Sebastian Paz (Batty) Caracol.
in my experience it seems to be completely permanent, I try not to leave the bleach for more than a couple of minutes on the shirt I use a 50/50 mix of bleach and water, and the soak in water with white vinegar for about 1-2 hour, the white vinegar cures the shirt so the bleach does not continue to destroy the fabric, then wash as you would regular cloths with detergent to eliminate the smell of bleach and vinegar, and then dry to allow for pre-shrunk t-shirt
After a little while it became really boring, so I decided to create Stencils of my work, characters from my paintings and different design elements, and photographs that I would convert into stencils, creating the collection of stencils I have right now, it keeps growing, but I have to find a way of creating the stencils faster, right know I use an x-acto knife or some form of very sharp blade to cut the stencils... It takes me about 4 hours to create very detail Stencils, but once I make them,I can use them for a very long time. I use to make them of cardboard, but again the bleach its so toxic that it would disintegrate the cardboard after 5 shirts, having to replicate the stencil, so I needed to find something more permanent, so that's when I started to use Plastic Mylar Sheets (http://www.stencilease.com/db/display...) 12 x 18 Plastic Mylar, and also sells a Stencil Cutter that works with heat...) I already bought one but the seller didn't specify that it was for the European Market. and it only work with a 220v current so I have not been able to use it. very disappointing.
Any questions, feel free to send me a message
My Conclusion and Insights into making this kind
of T-Shirts.
Music "Arcano Cero" Sebastian Paz (Batty) Cafe Teatro (Purpura)
I probably would use less spraying (in some of the videos you can actually hear the amount of bleach and the force I use to spray the bleach)
To avoid over bleaching of the shirts, and to allow more space, not to spray them so close to the t-shirts as they risk blowing of the stencil characters off the shirt. (I still use My Collection of Stencil Characters)
This days I use (Vinyl Stickers) of my Characters.
When I came to the USA. I worked in a Sign Shop and I learned to create (Cut Files of Different sizes of Sticker Characters) and I use to save a lot of material that was wasted because of errors, I would collect the pieces and then I would cut my stickers in whatever material I saved from, the trash, so basically Recycling materials that would otherwise would have gone to the trash.
Great Tip for People looking for materials to work with, The Sign Shop Industries, are really wasteful of materials, it would be good to establish a relationship with some of this companies to ask them to take some of their trash. it might be even easier if you already work in one of this places.
Music "Caballo de Fuego" / "Angel de la Rebelion" Sebastian Paz (Batty) Caracol.
I would avoid trying to make this type of t-shirt discharge
(reverse tyedye) in this Color of T-Shirts
Bright Reds,
Bright Oranges,
Some Yellows.
Try using (Darker Colorations) they work best for this technique
of making t-shirts.
Great Colors
Black
Browns
Camo Green
Burgandy
Turquoise
Mustard
make sure to Always use 100% Cotton T-Shirts.
some blends with (Rayon or Polyester) do Not React
at all to the bleach.
I have stop using so much spraying Bleach on the shirts as the bleach is really strong and I usually use (75% Bleach, 25% Water)
Also Make Sure You Wear Good Quality Rubber Gloves, can"t stress that enough, and try always using a well ventilated area. I always do my T-Shirts Outdoors with a lot of cross ventilation.
Time Is Art...
and what You Do with Your Time Is Your Art...
ArJeiEmSi.
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This is a Preview of the "Best One Of A Kind T-Shirts"
by ArJeiEmSi,
over a period of (10 years). Since 2006 I have obsessively documented my Work, and this represent the best t-shirts I liked,
most of the shirts I would take pictures of the full t-shirt, front and back and also do close up of the different designs, although this are one of a kind.
Music: "Caracol" Sebastian Paz (Batty)
By taking pictures of them, I would be able to reproduce them with Silkscreen, creating a half tone in black and white, and then the color of the shirts could vary according to the different discharge paste used, this days they come in different colors.
I also have a collection of the Designs I make of my Artworks to be printed with Silkscreens press. After I print them, I would create a reverse tye dye discharge around the designs. (check out in detail in another post.
Music: "Fedra" Sebastian Paz (Batty)
Another time where I tried to sell this kind of shirts in ebay, but for me being one of a kind, I was never able to scale up to meet the demand and another attempt failed.
the next preview is of a (Pop Up Store) in (Plaza Las Americas), for a couple of years in a row I participated of the Feria Artesanal de Plaza Las Americas. Two times a year During Holiday Season and another during the summer.
A side note on this last Preview, while I was editing this video in my studio in Santurce,
on a (October 23 of 2009) around 12:23 am, I heard a Very loud Explosion...
but is kind of funny that it happen while I was editing the video with the Music with such a high tempo.
like a very powerful Bomb, follow by a shock wave seconds later, I look to my windows that were open, and I saw the curtains all at once being lift up by the shock way and brought them up about (5) foot in the air, fallow by an earthquake of (2.9) in the Richter Scale.
It totally caught me by surprise, I was like "What the Fuck" and went out into the hall way to where the elevators and the bathrooms were, there was an open space where I could look onto the distance across the deistance I could see a Huge Fire going on in Cataño, the next day I would find out, that it was the oil refinary at CEPECO that had an accident, and several of the Storage tanks of fuel exploded, causing an ecological disaster. I got great footage during the night and days after.
Checking the news reels after the fact (15) years after the incident,
I was shock to learn that it took about (3) days to contain.
I had a little glitch in the matrix, meaning I kind of remember in my mind the fire went on for weeks... but apparently it was all in my head, maybe the fact that it went on an on for (3) strait days with its massive dark cloud of pollution. I guess that made it even more memorable.
I will share the fool footage on another post.