pixelatedbybeckarahn

digitally printed fabrics from my original designs

Minneapolis, Minnesota On Etsy since 2017

23 Sales | 5 out of 5 stars

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A buyer bought a gift from this shop and gave it a 5-star review!

pixelatedbybeckarahn

digitally printed fabrics from my original designs

Minneapolis, Minnesota | 23 Sales

5 out of 5 stars

Shop owner

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Announcement    6/1/20 Thank you for understanding as my shop was closed for a couple of days due to the unsettled situation here in Minneapolis. Wishing you peace and understanding in your community. -- Becka

Announcement

Last updated on Jun 1, 2020

6/1/20 Thank you for understanding as my shop was closed for a couple of days due to the unsettled situation here in Minneapolis. Wishing you peace and understanding in your community. -- Becka

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Becka Rahn

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Becka Rahn

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(5)

About pixelatedbybeckarahn

Sales 23
On Etsy since 2017
  • This is one of my favorite prints. The original art was made from one day's worth of junk mail cut up into pieces.
  • I create original digital fabric designs. This faux batik print started with painted paper that I scanned.
  • I literally wrote the book about digital fabric design with Spoonflower.
  • These sailboats started out as paper illustrations.
  • This is the first fabric I ever designed and printed. The goldfish is the same one from my logo; his name is Smee.

I spend a lot of time thinking about pixels.

I have been sewing and making clothes and costumes since I was a kid, but I feel like I finally found my art form when I discovered digital printing on fabric. In a nutshell, I create art from paper, paint, or photos. I turn that art into a digital file, manipulate and engineer it to fit a specific shape or garment design, and have it printed onto fabric using a giant ink jet printer. Then I sew those custom fabrics into clothing and accessories.

I have always been a little bit of a computer geek. Back when it was relatively easy to program your own computer, my dad and I used to get a magazine that published games that you could type in and save on a cassette tape on your Commodore 64. I went from that to coding my own animated graphics to making websites to learning Photoshop. In 2008, a company called Spoonflower came on to the scene and they made it possible to upload and print your own fabric designs in small amounts. Traditional fabric printing wasn’t even something I had thought about because you had to order thousands of yards to get anything produced. It seemed totally unapproachable. I instantly signed up to be on the beta test list for Spoonflower and I still have the very first fabric I had printed. I can’t cut it up; it’s become sort of a good luck charm for me.

I have had an Etsy shop beckarahn.etsy.com since 2005. "Pixelated by Becka Rahn" is a spin off of that shop. "Pixelated" will feature the clothing and accessories that I have only been selling at local boutiques or in-person shows; "beckarahn" will continue to be the source for puns and parodies for fiber artists. In 2018, I opened oboedamore.etsy.com, which has oboe themed gifts and accessories. I also administrate the account feeliefaces.etsy.com, which is a collaboration with 2 other artist friends with proceeds that benefit the local design college.

I worked for almost 12 years as an arts administrator, overseeing all of the education programs at Textile Center in Minneapolis. That was a full time job, so I wasn’t making much of my own art, but I was absolutely immersed in art-making, mentoring and fostering artistic development in others. When I decided it was time to leave that position and make more of my own art, I created my own job description, which is a balance of teaching, making and selling art, and partnering with organizations to make art with others. I do all of my own sewing and make each piece by hand. It is important to me that they aren't mass produced or outsourced.

Even informally, I am always teaching through my art. There is a philosophy of fine art that says that you shouldn’t have to explain a piece to the viewer through labels and didactics, but that it should be able to communicate everything all on its own. I totally disagree. Art is all about telling stories and by just looking at a piece, you are only getting to experience one story. I love to be right there to talk about my work and answer questions for people. I want to tell the story about the title or why I chose the color I used. I want people to connect to it in a personal way by finding the story that speaks to them, whether it’s about the aesthetic of the design or learning about the techhie way I achieved a specific effect. When I display my work, I have a lot of ways for people to get more info. My tags talk about where designs came from and talk about process. I post lots of behind-the-scenes and work-in-progress photos to social media.

Production partners

  • Knotty Tie

    Denver, CO

    Knotty Tie sews the finished ties from my original fabric designs. They create employment opportunities for resettling refugees to work in their trade and earn a fair living wage.

  • Spoonflower

    Durham, NC

    I use Spoonflower to digitally print all of my original fabric designs.

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