North Lamon
DePaul University Senior Capstone
When my family immigrated from Poland to Chicago in the early 90s, they initially found refuge in a heavily Polish populated area of the city: Jackowo. After months of daily English classes paired with long night shifts, my grandfather, grandmother, mom, aunt, and uncle all came together to buy their first home in Portage Park on North Lamon. North Lamon, the street I call my second home, is a symbol of not only my family and their hard work, but a symbol of all Polish immigrants who continue to shape Chicago.
North Lamon, a brand of lifestyle apparel, pays tribute to my family who have given me the life they dreamed for themselves. As a first generation college graduate, I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to pursue my love for art at a higher level. During my time at DePaul University, I developed a passion for a variety of art mediums. Due to its meditative nature, I enjoyed reflecting on my identity as a Polish American through the process of block printing, screen printing, and developing film.
Each visual component of North Lamon was created using linoleum block printing. The visuals printed on each article of clothing - the stork, home, and brownstones - were created by carving into a block of linoleum and inking its surface to create a print. From here, I covered silk screens in diazo emulsion, placed a printed copy for my linoleum designs on the screens, and exposed the screens to UV light. This allowed me to print my linoleum designs on a variety of textiles. Once the apparel was created, I got my friends together and photographed them on both black and white film and a Nikon D700. Using the dark room at the DePaul Art School, I developed 5 rolls of film and printed each photograph using a photo enlarger.
