About Serigraphs

A serigraph (silkscreen print) is an original print produced by forcing ink through a cloth stencil stretched tightly on a frame. The word comes from sericen, a substance produced by the silk worm. Originally, human hair was woven to make the cloth stencil, then silk (hence the term silkscreen), and now most silkscreen stencils are made of nylon.

Artist Rita Noe begins her work by shooting black-and-white film, then produces high contrast films from the negatives, creating a separate film for each color intended in the serigraph. Those films are then used to expose a light-sensitive silkscreen stencil for each color. The actual printing is done with oil base inks on paper, one color at a time for the entire edition.

The number of colors in these works varies from as few as four to as many as fifteen, with specialized techniques such as one-stroke graduated color. She has most recently begun adding foil stamped elements to the serigraphs.

Rita's work has been exhibited in many midwestern exhibits, the southwest, and in 12 solo exhibits in Japan.