Lois Harada

Critic - Printmaking

Lois Harada is an artist and printmaker working in Providence. She studied printmaking at RISD and settled in Rhode Island after graduating with a BFA in 2010. She works at DWRI Letterpress, a commercial letterpress printshop where she also prints her own work. Harada utilizes text and the medium of the poster to tell her family’s story of incarceration—her paternal grandmother was interned in Poston, AZ from 1942–45. She takes inspiration from propaganda printed and distributed by the US government and prints with type and equipment similar to that which would have created the original works. 

Harada has exhibited her work across the US and internationally. Her work is included in private collections as well as at the RISD Museum. Her practice is bolstered by residencies, and she is currently preparing for a five-week residency at Anderson Ranch in Colorado in spring 2023. She recently finished a seven-year term on the board of New Urban Arts, Providence’s nationally recognized, free arts drop-in program, and now serves as chair of the Art in City Life Commission serving the city of Providence.

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

GRAPH 2355-01 - INTRODUCTION TO BOOK ARTS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

GRAPH 2355-01

INTRODUCTION TO BOOK ARTS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: T | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Lois Harada Location(s): Design Center, Room 801 Enrolled / Capacity: 14 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In this Graphic Design studio, students will learn the building blocks of book construction. In addition to handwork and bindery skills, students will work to set type, manually and digitally, to match their conceptual vision and learn to plan, execute and create well crafted book projects. The course will cover the history of the book from codexes and manuscripts all the way through modern zines to give us context for our technical work. We will study the medium of the artists’ book which, though rooted in traditional book forms, take on any shape and design that the artist can imagine. This medium has a rich history—we’ll study exemplars in the Special Collections archive and visit with contemporary artists in the field. 

Craft is essential to creating effective forms that tell the story of our design practice. How can the technical skills learned in traditional book binding be adapted to your vision and voice?

Open to Junior, Senior or Graduate Graphic Design Students.

Electi

GRAPH 3178-01 - WKSHP: LETTERPRESS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 1
Format Workshop
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

GRAPH 3178-01

WKSHP: LETTERPRESS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 1
Format Workshop
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-08 to 2023-09-29
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Lois Harada Location(s): Design Center, Room 301 Enrolled / Capacity: 10 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

From Letterpress to Inkjet: this workshop will offer the students a unique opportunity to connect the dots. Two technologies more than 500 years apart will inspire the students in finding either harmony or discord. Neither is proven wrong. Students will be introduced to the Type Shop through the techniques and procedures for setting and printing metal and wood type on the Vandercook proofing presses. Engaging in this historic craft, newly developed skills will be transformed into contemporary results. The students will unite the digital with the analog technology, for example by feeding a letterpress print through the inkjet plotter or to digitize hot metal type. The options are endless. Specifications on paper selection will be discussed and samples of letterpressed books will be shown for inspiration. Any such targeted integration of science and art goes beyond the sheer structural and aesthetic qualities of given product. But as regards graphic design "product," it must contain the conscious integration of the human factor, technology, and aesthetics to prove effective.

Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Graduate Graphic Design Students only. Please contact the instructor to be added to the waitlist.

Elective

GRAPH 3178-02 - WKSHP: LETTERPRESS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 1
Format Workshop
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

GRAPH 3178-02

WKSHP: LETTERPRESS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 1
Format Workshop
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-10-06 to 2023-10-27
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Lois Harada Location(s): Design Center, Room 301 Enrolled / Capacity: 10 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

From Letterpress to Inkjet: this workshop will offer the students a unique opportunity to connect the dots. Two technologies more than 500 years apart will inspire the students in finding either harmony or discord. Neither is proven wrong. Students will be introduced to the Type Shop through the techniques and procedures for setting and printing metal and wood type on the Vandercook proofing presses. Engaging in this historic craft, newly developed skills will be transformed into contemporary results. The students will unite the digital with the analog technology, for example by feeding a letterpress print through the inkjet plotter or to digitize hot metal type. The options are endless. Specifications on paper selection will be discussed and samples of letterpressed books will be shown for inspiration. Any such targeted integration of science and art goes beyond the sheer structural and aesthetic qualities of given product. But as regards graphic design "product," it must contain the conscious integration of the human factor, technology, and aesthetics to prove effective.

Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Graduate Graphic Design Students only. Please contact the instructor to be added to the waitlist.

Elective

GRAPH 3178-03 - WKSHP: LETTERPRESS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 1
Format Workshop
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

GRAPH 3178-03

WKSHP: LETTERPRESS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 1
Format Workshop
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-11-03 to 2023-12-01
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Lois Harada Location(s): Design Center, Room 301 Enrolled / Capacity: 10 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

From Letterpress to Inkjet: this workshop will offer the students a unique opportunity to connect the dots. Two technologies more than 500 years apart will inspire the students in finding either harmony or discord. Neither is proven wrong. Students will be introduced to the Type Shop through the techniques and procedures for setting and printing metal and wood type on the Vandercook proofing presses. Engaging in this historic craft, newly developed skills will be transformed into contemporary results. The students will unite the digital with the analog technology, for example by feeding a letterpress print through the inkjet plotter or to digitize hot metal type. The options are endless. Specifications on paper selection will be discussed and samples of letterpressed books will be shown for inspiration. Any such targeted integration of science and art goes beyond the sheer structural and aesthetic qualities of given product. But as regards graphic design "product," it must contain the conscious integration of the human factor, technology, and aesthetics to prove effective.

Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Graduate Graphic Design Students only. Please contact the instructor to be added to the waitlist.

Elective

Spring 2024 Courses

PRINT 4624-01 - SINGLE EDITION/PORTFOLIO PROJECT
Level Undergraduate
Unit Printmaking
Subject Printmaking
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

PRINT 4624-01

SINGLE EDITION/PORTFOLIO PROJECT

Level Undergraduate
Unit Printmaking
Subject Printmaking
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Lois Harada Location(s): Benson Hall, Room 306 Enrolled / Capacity: 14 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to present various printmaking processes to students new and more experienced; majors and non-majors. In group or individually, beginners will learn and advanced students will review print techniques that span silkscreen, intaglio, photo/digital, and/or their printed combinations, e.g., students choose the print technique(s) they wish to be the focus of their final, printed edition. The course objective concentrates on visualizing a distinct, image, while respecting each printmaking discipline(s), as it melds medium, process and concept. Drawings, studies and printed proofs will be initially created to learn, explore and plan strategies for the edition. The editioned print can be either experimental or more traditional. The course will culminate in a professionally presented printed edition that will be kept by the artist numbering enough prints to accommodate a class print exchange. This course may be repeated for credit.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective