Steve Walters in his studio in 2016, holding an artwork he screen printed for a client. Greg Ayer
Steve Walters, 57, is a Chicago artist and screen printer. In 1991 he founded Screwball Press, which he still runs today; it s come to be recognized as a pioneering and influential local institution in the business of screen-printed rock posters. He creates original art for bands and venues and does production printing for other artists projects. This past fall he opened Burgoo, a shop and gallery space in Rogers Park.
As told to Salem Collo-Julin
I drove down to Atlanta this week to pick up my daughter, and then I ll bring her back next Tuesday. She s going to college there. I think all of her classes this semester were online. I think she s been tested for COVID like four or five times over the semester.
have to discuss or talk about basic things. and decisions get made a lot faster because we can be far more direct with each other if she can be reached i can decide to my in. the twins focus on a minimalist design for textiles and products. cardholders made of stone and printed blankets are part of their collection. they frequently draw inspiration from age old techniques like silk screen. they keep a clear division of labor dino is mainly responsible for the design takes care of the marketing. but such close collaboration also has its disadvantages. the prius no bones by it it s easy to get our private lives mixed up with our work in the
they started out with phone call asking what my intentions were if it was to happen, maybe make shirts or hats, give it to local businesses and see if they might be interested in a deal to make silk screen those or something, and i was told that that was too close to their, their product and so they asked me if i would abandon the trademarks. greta: did you have a lawyer? i know they ve got a lot of lawyers. did you have a lawyer for this? no, ma am. greta: you re just doing this all by yourself with your good idea and suddenly, they think that that s too close to the super bowl trademark, is that right? is that the problem?
they started out with phone call asking what my intentions were if it was to happen, maybe make shirts or hats, give it to local businesses and see if they might be interested in a deal to make silk screen those or something, and i was told that that was too close to their, their product and so they asked me if i would abandon the trademarks. greta: did you have a lawyer? i know they ve got a lot of lawyers. did you have a lawyer for this? no, ma am. greta: you re just doing this all by yourself with your good idea and suddenly, they think that that s too close to the super bowl trademark, is that right? is that the problem?
this is the color.i think everybody has that one color that just makes them smile and this sort of deep aqua is the color that does it for me and i was so happy to see this in here. i think it s like an old silk screen; which is awesome. so i might try to play off these colors. she said she liked greens and blues. maybe we can find a color that coordinates with this really well. maybe not the same color. something to make it pop. i think that s a great idea. exactly, exactly. okay, well really we don t have too much to do in this room. we have nothing to undo. she hasn t done anything horrible. so it s really about just trying to add some color and some personality and a little bit more of a rustic so that it doesn t look like a doctors office frankly. super contemporary. okay well i m going to give you a roll of measuring tape. i m going to gather all this stuff and we ll get started. sounds good. fantastic. coming up next, we ve got to warm up this room and find the right pieces of