Sticker activism has a long history of efficiently spreading awareness. Unlike graffiti, stickers are legal as long as they are not conveying hate speech. These laws have encouraged many individuals around the world to start ordering and distributing their own stickers in hopes of spreading an important message to the public. Many have also realised that the stickers they are buying can be easily made with the right tools, including our very own Fine Arts professor at Mt. A; Jerry Ropson, who has been teaching at the school for over a decade and producing stickers for even longer. Over recent years, Ropson has been hosting a free class on how to make your own vinyl stickers in hopes of encouraging students to spread their art through the power of stickers.
The initial step is ordering your preference of colours in vinyl sheets and finding a pair of scissors. According to Ropson, Vinyl sheets are best for sticker production due to their versatility and weather resistance. At the workshop, all of the materials are laid out and ready to use including x-acto knives, cutting boards, scissors, and a kaleidoscope of vinyl sheets. Ropson says, vinyl accessibility has become a lot easier over the years: “When I first started doing this, I would have to go to commercial sign makers, but now, because everyone has a vinyl plotter at home—you can just get a megapack of the vinyl sheets online.” After gathering all of the right colours you hope to use for your sticker, flip the sheets to the gridded side and begin drawing out the shapes you need. Keep in mind whatever shapes or letters you draw will appear backwards after cutting them. After you have cut out all of your shapes, you can actually begin peeling the shapes you want to include within the sticker and layer them atop your base sticker which will remain unpeeled. The layering process made the experience much simpler and proved to be the most enjoyable stage for many people attending the class.
After you have your sticker, you now have the freedom to stick it wherever you want; store windows, restaurants, schools, road signs, cars, and even airports. Many will make stickers to stick below the STOP on a stop sign; STOP eating animals, STOP genocide, STOP police brutality, etc.. One radical and influential form of sticker activism is replacing or covering an existing message in a public place to convey a different identity. These stickers usually get peeled off quickly if you are in a government-funded or highly public establishment but can be very influential, especially if they catch the public eye. Though this method is definitely effective in spreading awareness, it can also attract a lot of hate, censorship, and accusations of vandalism which Ropson has also experienced in the past: “I’ve even had people say to me that it’s vandalism but the fact of the matter is that it’s not- it’s just a sticker”.
Sticker art and activism is a powerful tool for artists and activists everywhere, including individuals with disabilities, language barriers, and even financial limitations. Not everyone can afford to protest, strike or donate, so making stickers can be an efficient alternative to spread awareness. Ropson says that the most important part of making stickers, and art in general, is to think about how you want to make people feel when they see the sticker. “Stickers make people think about the place and site more, you can sort of force a conversation or meaning through them.” Ropson emphasises their purpose by stating: “If you use stickers in a thoughtful and considerate way I would not say it is littering. You can use language in a way that is thoughtful and intentional” Though many countries or institutions consider stickers littering, nobody can find them all, and many may let it slide (or stick) if they feel that the sticker is an important message.
Not only do these workshops encourage individuals to push their creative boundaries, they also give people the opportunity to find their voice through their art in a semi-permanent way. The stickers are something you can put wherever you want or keep in your pocket as a reminder of your artistic abilities and that is exactly what the Maker Maker workshops are about. If you missed the last one, do not fret because this is a monthly event at the Owens. For more information on free arts events, visit the owensartgallery.com or @owensartgallery on Instagram!
