I started learning how to use the risograph back in July of 2022. Towards the end of the pandemic, students were returning to the campus. It was a machine we had been waiting for several years. When it finally arrived, I saw it as a copy machine-like device. I was expecting something grand and spectacular, but it looked ordinary from the outside. The work produced from the risograph by faculty and students was spectacular!
Learning new skills can be fun. I attended in-person and online workshops to understand the machine better. I participated in in-person workshops at Tiny Splendor and LA Printing and finished an online course at the School of Visual Art in New York. I appreciated my job for allowing me to acquire new skills. Nevertheless, I gained the most experience by assisting students and learning how to print their work on the risograph.
I was lucky to have several wonderful TAs. They were there when I first opened the lab. We facilitate lab hours for illustration students to come by to print. They contributed a lot of best practices, handouts, and procedures that I adopted for the lab. It was also exciting that they incorporated riso prints into their practice. The lab has expanded since then. Students from other majors like Fine Art, Graphic Design, and Entertainment Design frequented the lab consistently.
Despite the risograph malfunctioning last week, the students in the workshop watched my demonstration on file preparation and finished their assignments. Next week, we will have a guest speaker. Natalie Andrewson will present her work with the risograph. The students and I are excitedly anticipating her presentation.
Someday, I do want to be trained to be a RISO technician. The machine breaks down often. It would be great if I had some knowledge to fix it. I love my work because I continue to have the opportunity to learn. During the fall of 2024, I had a chance to teach with Illustration Faculty Jeannie Winston. Partnering with her in this class was one of my favorite things working at ArtCenter.
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