Meet Sediment Press

Sediment Press is an illustration and screen printing company. They create pieces mainly in the form of posters and cards, including wedding invitations, business cards, and postcards.

When I entered Tim’s apartment I was greeted by Epson the cat curled up lazily in front of a screen printing nearly six feet tall. It was of a strangely human-like dinosaur skeleton staring into a futuristic star it held in it’s hand. Epson seemed like a conquering general lying at the base of a statue among the ruins of his overthrown city. The image, though on a flat surface, developed a 3D quality from multiple screen printings.Once in the studio which is a closet-sized room creatively set up with lights, a press, a drying rack and more paint that I have ever seen, I asked Charles how Sediment Press came to be. He explained that he and Tim had first met in a screen printing class at the Art League in Alexandria. After the class had ended they decided to set up their own shop in Tim’s apartment and continue to print on their own time.A little press from Charles and Tim...
 
How Sediment Press got its Name
We settled on the name Sediment Press because the name seemed an apt metaphor for screen printing. Screen prints are built up by layers of ink much in the way that layers of sediment accumulate over time. I also have a thing for dinosaurs and wanted a dinosaur skull in the logo.

Screen Printing 101
Tim and Charles invited me to watch the screen printing process and they explained how screen printing is done from start to finish.
1) Most pieces begin with a series of sketches
2) Then the piece is illustrated either by hand or on the computer
3) The design then is separated into different layers of color that are needed for screen printing
4) The layers are printed separately onto transparent sheets
5) The designs on the transparent sheets are burned into the screens using a photographic process
6) The water soluble stencil is rinsed out of the screen
7)  We then print the screens one color at a time resulting in a multicolored image
 

The Medium of Screen Printing
Screen printing is an extremely versatile process. One of the reasons we chose it as a medium is that it allows you to source images from anywhere. Hand drawn art, photographs, computer generated imagery, and even found objects can be combined into one cohesive piece. Because you can produce so many at one time you can to create hand crafted art pieces that are affordable to the average person.  We also like how the process is scalable. We started making posters and cards but have gone on to print pieces taller than us.After Tim and Charles showed me the printing process they let me see a sample of their work that they had created for clients. I was intrigued by the versatility of the artwork and left feeling inspired.
Want to see the finished product? Or if you have an inquiry please reach out to Tim and Charles below.
 
Sediment Press
Charles Robertson - Creative - 504-330-0556 - charles@sedimentpress.com
Tim Lovelace - Operations - 571-291-5813 - tim@sedimentpress.com
General Inquires - contact@sedimentpress.com
sedimentpress.com
 
Sediment Press walks a line between a contemporary art studio and a commercial illustration company. We are highly experimental, always looking for new ways to make compelling images and to convey ideas. One way we have tried to set ourselves apart is by attempting to master both the creative and technical aspects of screen printing.  Charles has a lifelong background in art ranging from large scale metal sculpture to traditional drawing and painting. Tim has a degree in graphic communications which focused on modern printing techniques and methods of production.
 
This article was written by Meghan Stewart, Tim Lovelace and Charles Robertson. If you would like your business featured please contact Meghan Stewart.