PHOTO by Teresa Pyskaty
“There is a special dialogue that exists between an artist and the person choosing to display an artists image on their body.”
Creating both wearable and provocative images requires a deep connection to the human spirit and a good solid command of the fundamentals of making good art.
T-Shirt Art is an evolved hybrid form of communicating. It is beyond quotidian yet it is all about daily life.
Prints, especially on a T-Shirt are the most affordable of art forms. Prints are accessible to everyone. This makes Printmaking a true reflection of Democracy at it’s best.
Val Sivilli
Once upon a time….
Civilian was conceived after Val moved from Brooklyn to Frenchtown, New Jersey following the birth of her son, Jack in 1991. With an MFA in Printmaking, Val often found herself home alone as a mother of two. Without a Printshop, Val developed a unique handprinting process. Collagraphs were a favorite process. A hot glue gun on plexiglass created a great collagraph plate for pressing an image into fabric. The intaglio area is painted with a brush, the raised relief, glue gun line is rolled with a foam roller, the plate is then pressed, fully inked, onto a soft fabric, muslin or canvas.
Her practice organically evolved into printing on T-Shirts when she was printing alone late one night and ran out of canvas. She rummaged through her house for old t-shirts. When trying to sell images on stretched canvas they were a harder sell. When she printed them on a T-shirt… SOLD! Because money struggles were always very present and because the very successful Handprinted Clothing company, Blue Fish, was at it’s hey-day, and it’s facility was, ironically, directly adjacent to her newly found home along the Delaware River, it was a no brainer to follow the money and print those plates onto T-shirts.
As Civilian evolved, she eventually rented a small shop in Frenchtown, NJ where she print her clothing and sold her work as well as other artists work. There have been many iterations of Civilian over the years. Civilian’s legacy is that of an active participant in the living arts and making art with her community. Around 2006, Civilian’s images were created through screenprinting and digital manipulation of hand generated imagery.
After 2008, when the economy crashed, so did Civilian. Val took to being a vendor at Local Farmer’s Markets, one of the best decisions she made. It connected her to the larger area, issues of sustainable practices, organic food and farming.
Today, Civilian’s best images live as digital versions created during a 20 year span. Civilian’s legacy includes a vast series of fundraisers, workshops, community events, collaborative projects and collective efforts.
fun fact:
The name CIVILIAN was adopted from her brother’s the disbanded rock band, THE CIVILIANS - a play on their last name : SIVILLI.
ABOUT Val • short bio
A Brooklyn / Long Island transplant, Val has lived Art, taught Art and exhibited Art as Civilian since 1991 in the Delaware Valley. Throughout Val’s 20 year career as Civilian, she designed and silkscreened her T-Shirts one at a time. Ever since her very first printmaking class in art school at SUNY Purchase, studying woodblock printing with Antonio Frasconi, printmaking has been very close to Val’s heart.
Val holds a Masters of Fine Arts Degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rugters and a BFA from SUNY Alfred. She is an Adjunct Professor of Art in various colleges in New Jersey. She is currently teaching virtual classes and is developing an online art program that will be available through “The Civilian School of Art.”
VAL is a working, exhibiting artist. To see Val’s paintings and see what she is up to outside of Civilian Art, CLICK HERE.
UNDERWRITING BLURB for WDVR.fm : Fall 2023 / Winter 2024
A long time Hunterdon County artist, Val Sivilli has been designing and selling T-shirts for events, business and just pure fun since 1996. Because she knows that your Civilian Tshirts are really worn out by now, replace them with new versions directly from her website, civilianart.com or find handprinted versions in her studio in Holland Township, NJ open on Wednesdays from 11-7pm. For directions and more information or to join Civilian's mailing list for workshop announcements or just pure inspiration go to www.civilianart,.com
Express Yourself • Wear good art on your body • Find Incredible Joy!
Whether handprinted by Val or printed by PRINTFUL, Civilian’s shirts offer the best quality printing, the most imaginative and resonant art on the best fitting and best quality shirts in the marketplace. Civilian has been a Graphic Design and T-shirt company created by Val Sivilli
Visit the Civilian Art Studio on Wednesdays from 11-6/7pm.
Printing Art on Garments since 1996.