Happy Holidays!

Retail Workshop at the Baitshop & Holiday Feast

On the last day before Winter Break, most OSF students showed up to chow down on some grub before pitching ideas and designs for a custom screenprinted T-shirt to a panel of designers that included Ken, Greg and Craig. We are looking forward to January and the launch of a sample line of T-shirts representing the culmination of a semester developing and refining each student's own personal company/brand.

Tiki

I am a 17 year old student at Oasis Skateboard Factory in Toronto. I have been in the school for two semesters and learned a lot about stencilling and woodworking to make this awesome board.

My board was inspired from this restaurant called “Tiki Ming” my girlfriend and I always go to which has the best Shanghai noodles in the world. The Tiki is holding its stomach’s mouth from growling and it needs to eat some Shanghai to fulfill its craving; If he releases his hands a loud roar will continuously shout. The Tiki represents a challenge to not eat for a whole day, then go to Tiki Ming and eat as much shanghai as you possibly can!

Ted at Roarockit mentored me in the process of shaping and cutting my board. I applied purple ply on the bottom of the board then sanded it down for a smooth surface to lay down a graphic. I stencilled a two-layered brown background for the Tiki, sprinkled some extra colour for a wood texture and then masked the board with tape to cut out a variety of lines that make this board look like a retro cartoon or old Polynesian style graphic. Once that was all done I applied triple gloss sealant lightly on the board for a nice final coat.

I have defiantly learned a lot since my first board and expanded on my variety of tools and techniques to craft boards and graphics. I look forward to stay another semester to make more boards and push myself further.

Vert Style

I've been here at OSF for around 2 semesters and since I've been here I've made 5 boards (4 street decks and 1 custom longboard). I've started to make my own brand as well, it is called Vert, a company that is represented by animals and plant life that have the colour green in them. The theme of this custom shaped board is graffiti style writing with a simple graphic of my brand name. I wanted this board to be like a smaller version of a longboard because I find I like the shape of longboards but they're really heavy (I find longboards way to heavy to have on you all day so I wanted to make it lighter for the rider). I find being at OSF has really improved my skills in graffiti and drawing and I’m glad I could make work like this.


My board was made out of 100% maple and I had help from Ted at Roarockit to make it. I used the taping method of stencilling then cutting out the design. I used black and lime green spray paint and then sprayed it with a gloss finish. I made the graffiti of my brand name and tried to make it balance and flow out well and I think the green and black work very well together to make it stand out and make it more vibrant. I think it came out looking really good.


Overall, I think I did really well on the woodworking and the graphic on this board; I put a lot of time and effort into it and I’m very proud with the outcome.

P-Vandal

"Hai..it’s my first semester at Oasis Skateboard Factory". I represent my brand Heartarchy, which I came up with when I started designing here. This is my first board I’ve had the chance to design and build by myself, and I’m really happy with the end results.

My board is 100% maple, completely hand made. My original idea was a Pikachu with a gas mask. I ended up adding spray cans and lightning signs throughout the board to create repetition and I balanced out the white with the gas mask & pokeball. I stencilled layers on my deck, starting with the Pikachu and then the gas mask, the black on the pokeball with the lightning drips, the lightning signs, and finishing off with white outlines and touch-ups.

I’m looking forward to designing and building more boards at Oasis.
Thanks to Craig, for helping with the design & ideas!

Zombie Apocalypse

This is my third semester at the Factory. This longboard represents my love for horror films. Hence the “zombie apocalypse” taking place on the underside of the board.

It is a pintail longboard, made of 100% pure Canadian maple with an added kick-tail on the backside for ample manoeuvrability, control and for pivoting. A kick-tail is also ideal for someone transitioning from a street deck to a longboard.

I used a limited colour pallet of just green on black. This gave my design lots of contrast which supported my theme and conveys a darker, nighttime atmosphere. I dipped the whole board in black, then I made stencils for the green graphics. Later I hand painted extra details of black into the design to make it pop. I also layered in some misty and drippy techniques to top it off. Finally, I added an offset racing stripe on the top that wraps over the nose and down the top of the graphic and merges into a lightening bolt.

So, if you too have a love for horror films or zombies, be sure to check it out at Fine Grind 3, our upcoming art show on Wednesday, January 26 through to February 28 at Manic Coffee (426 College St).

Sponsor: Individual Commission

Squid

Hi. This is my first semester at Oasis Skateboard Factory and this is my first board. Originally I was just going to have a squid on my board, but then thought it would be a more solid graphic filling up my board by having the squid eating a bowl of rice with chopsticks. Ha ha!

My board is made of 100% Canadian Maple. My board was stained with a light blue/turquoise colour dye, stenciled and then spray painted. First I spray painted the background of my board using stencils, but then I masked out my board with tape and cut out my black layer so it wouldn’t show any separations. The solid black outline makes my design look really graphic and bold.

I have learned a lot at the OSF and I am very happy with the outcome of my first board. I’m hyped that I get to make skateboards in school! The next board I am going to make will be for a local comic book artist (helping him put his art on a series of boards) that I am very excited about.

Outreach: Fundraiser for the Dundas Living Centre

DEC. 15 UPDATE: SOLD WITH ALL PROCEEDS TO DLC
This "Days of the Dead" inspired pintail longboard is available in exchange for a donation to a group home for adults with cognitive and/or physical disabilities. Please contact our classroom at 416-393-0845.

November's "Get on Board" Morning Attendance Award: Thanks to Threadless (Chicago) for this month's bag of T-shirt prizes!

Learning Through the Arts: Video on the OSF by Curriculum Services Canada

Learning Through the Arts is a collection of videos demonstrating how to implement the revised Ontario Arts curriculum, showing examples of how teachers have integrated the arts into their own programs.

http://www.curriculum.org/arts/skateboards.shtml

*For more info go to http://www.curriculum.org/arts/index.shtml
Overview Video with selected clips: http://www.curriculum.org/arts/overview.shtml

OSF Student Skateboard Stickers in Facebook Event Picture

Keep in the loop about the upcoming 2011 Toronto International Adhesive Arts Expo:

http://www.facebook.com/andresmusta?success=1#!/event.php?eid=134880859900244

Chillz Jellyfish

I came to this program at the end of last year. In my time here I’ve designed and created 4 boards, 2 of which I sold and the others are for me. After making my own brand (is chillz) I decided I wanted my boards to be colourful, original designs that I would skate. The theme of this board is chillz jellyfish. The last board I designed was realistic, so I wanted this one to be more like a cartoon. Overall it was a good experience where I got to use my skills learned at OSF to make something for myself.

The board was made out of 100% Canadian Maple and was stencilled with spray paint before being highlighted with paint marker and sealed with spray sealant. I repeated the jellyfish image multiple times along the board to create rhythm and movement. The board is colourful and flows really nicely, which helps with the chillz effect of the jellyfish… I really like this board and am happy I get to take it home after all the work I put into it.

The next board I would like to work on is a custom shape deck, which I think I now have the skills to design.

Cosmic Hatching

Hey my name’s A.K.A. Dragon as you may already know if you’ve followed Oasis.

I’ve been in Oasis Skateboard Factory for a year and a half now. I’ve made at least 10 boards, some of them have been my own company brand “Cosmic Dragon” and some for friends and sponsorships. When I started my first board I used a sponge dabbing method instead of spray painting it and it didn’t look that great. Since then I’ve learned more styles and methods to make the graphics look better.

I thought last year was hard, but now I’m the studio technician so I’ve got to step my game up (which is fun but challenging at the same time). I get better everyday learning new ways to do it. Although I still get frustrated at times, I’ve also learned new ways to deal with that. Last year I had “the curse of bad spray paint” but that’s over hopefully!!!

This board is pretty important to me because it’s the hatching of my company. Although I’ve made two other boards for “Cosmic Dragon”, this is when the fun really starts because my logos are getting more defined and I’m getting into the groove. This board is called “Cosmic Hatching” because the meteor that crashed in my older board “Desert Landing” is the egg the Cosmic Dragon hatches from.

Keep eyes open for Cosmic Dragon’s next sighting!

Tripz

This my first semester at Oasis Skateboard Factory. This is also my very first board I have built and I’m keeping it for myself. I’m really stoked (happy) at the outcome of my deck, I worked hard on it and the hard work payed off.

The theme of the graphic on my skateboard is a psychedelic graffiti tropical design. “Tripz” is the name of my brand that I have been trying to communicate and advertise. I’m not really inspired directly by other artists, mainly by styles and types of art. I can’t really say my art is meant to be based off someone else’s at all; I’m trying to do my own thing.

I built this board from 100% Canadian Maple along with a design made from stencilling and spray painting. My board is a graffiti style design that flows with colour, fading, shape, and 3D. I’m trying to produce a psychedelic graffiti deck that appeals to modern values.

I think it turned out well, the only thing I would try and fix is the pressure cracks by sealing and finishing it faster and trying and be more careful. While stencilling, I got some spray paint where it shouldn’t be, but I cleaned it up to make it still look pretty nice (especially for my first skateboard)!