Pièce de résistance?

Pixies
5 color screen-print

…I think so. This is my ultimate favorite Leia print (and Leia’s!). I love the Pixies, and I would gladly seize up an opportunity to listen to vinyl with a snuggly dog. In my imagination, the girl is a teenage Emily Elizabeth Howard…during her “awkward years” (goodbye pink dress, hello black eyeliner)…and Clifford (bleached) (because teenagers do questionable things… like bleach their dogs).

Sweet Dreams Art Print
5 color screen-print

Leia Bell’s prints are thematically whimsical, and often feature animal interactions, human interactions, OR animals juxtaposed with humans. The animals in Leia’s prints are always really strong characters. Which is great (Hooray for nature!). What I especially enjoy, however, is her prodigious gift for depicting amazing parasitic (humans getting pwned by animals) and mutualistic interactions (Pixies girl and Pixies dog need each other to lean on…aww…).

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
5 color screen-print

HOW CAN PEOPLE CLUB BABY SEALS?!?! Answer me this, Sarah Palin.

Band of Annuals
4 color screen-print

For Leia, selecting great color pallets is incredibly visceral. Her illustrations are impressively colorful (it’s unsurprising to find a 5+color screen-prints in her collection) and she has impeccable taste. I love how in this Band of Annuals print, the girl’s coat and shoes fit in perfectly with the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood theme.

Kilby Court’s 5th Anniversary
3 color screen-print

“Oh, knife. I love you like a fat kid loves cake.” S&D School supplies post readers know that I find violent things sort of cute (like the nerf gun pen). I THINK THIS PRINT IS GREAT. (teehee).

WELCOME TO DAY THREE. Perhaps you were a tad worried. “Gosh. Two days of the tightest designers. You most certainly are going to disappointment me today, Tricia.” Well my naive grasshoppa. You are in for a wee disappointment, because today is going to be as memorable as the Full House episode where DJ babysits a kid who sticks his head between stair railings. I would like to present (the talented, accomplished, infamous) LEIA BELL! LEIA BELL! LEIA BELL! GASP GASP GASP. Those of you who have read my previous posts know that I love critters. This past Thanksgiving, I nearly died at the Holiday Market at Union Square when I saw an ENTIRE booth full of Nepalese-knitted critter mittens and hats. A truly blissful experience, it reminded me of my first introduction to Leia Bell at a Flatstock. A whole booth of divinely illustrated critter goods? Good grief. Tachycardia.

Learn more about Leia Bell after the jump. Clickity click click.

1. Describe your background. What did you want to do when you were five? What led you to printing?

I was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. I remember wanting to be an artist (or possibly a ballerina on roller skates) when I was five, and I would create stacks of drawings and walk around my neighborhood trying to sell them door to door for a nickel. I got into screenprinting in high school, and learned the basics by printing shirts for the various sports teams. With that knowledge, I would also print shirts for friends and boyfriends’ bands in my parents’ driveway. I was always into music and enjoyed supporting bands, so I would make flyers for local shows using the red, blue and black toner on the Kinko’s copiers. In 1997 I moved to Salt Lake City and attended the University of Utah, where I majored in Printmaking. I wasn’t sure how I’d actually use my degree after graduating, but I soon met Phil Sherburne, owner of the all-ages music venue in Salt Lake called Kilby Court and we became friends. I started making flyers for the venue (xeroxed ones at first) and when Phil found out I knew how to screenprint, he suggested that I print the flyers/posters instead to make them more collectible and special. He even built me a studio at the venue so I could work full time on art. Now it’s 8 years later, and Phil and I are a happy couple with 3 young sons. We sold Kilby Court in January of this year, and in May opened up our newest venture, a poster art gallery called Signed & Numbered.

2. I would describe my style as…

illustrated snapshots with the noise cut out.

3. I am inspired by…

the animal kingdom and relationships.

4. Can you describe the creative process that goes into making a print?

I start with a drawing; a lot of times this is inspired by a photograph I’ve taken. Once I have my black line art, I use this drawing to create the other color separations. Usually I will tape the drawing onto a window using it like a light table, then I sketch in a different page for each layer of color I want to use (most times it’s 4-7 colors). Then I take all the drawings to the copy center and print them out onto transparency film. I take the transparencies back to the studio, where I “burn” the images onto silk screens that have been coated with photo emulsion. The screens are my stencils that allow ink to pass through only in the image areas. Sometimes I decide on colors as I’m printing, or change them if they are too dark/light/bold. The whole process start to finish is around 18 hours of actual working time.

5. My favorite print of my own is…

Probably my Pixies poster from 2004… They are my all-time favorite band, so it was an honor to design something for their reunion tour.

6. What’s on your walls at home?

Quite a few Dan McCarthy prints involving dinosaur and human skeletons, Mark Pedini’s “Unconditional Love” print, Jay Ryan’s “Don’t go alone, go with a friend”, some random gig posters by myself and others, a couple of original paintings by local Utah artists, antique family photographs…I could go on for awhile here.

7. I am currently listening to…

Andrew Bird (at this very second).

8. I support…

hugging trees.

9. I am against…

wasting food.

10. My best recent purchase was…

the print “Marrum Horses” by Diana Sudyka.

11. I am currently obsessed with…

birds and their behavior.

…A small selection of more of her art prints…

As she mentioned in the interview, Leia’s new poster art gallery/retailer is called Signed & Numbered! (What a great name!) Located in Salt Lake City, Signed & Numbered features a LOT of great poster art talent, including a few artists that have been featured/will be featured on Stickers and Donuts! Signed & Number also this AMAZING program called “Bring it, Screen it.” As the name implies, you can get a special print-of-the-month SCREEN-printed on clothy items that you BRING in for only $5. Sigh. Gosh world. Why do you have to disappoint me again with the lack of teleportation. Womp womp. If you’re in the Salt Lake City area, GO VISIT! You can also view more of her work (organized by year!) and purchase prints/shirts/magnets on her website.

Click here to see other poster party posts!

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  3. poster party day 1: Tad Carpenter
  4. poster party day 4: Mike Klay
  5. you’re invited to poster party 2xx8!