Leslie Diuguid is absolutely fascinated with the science of color correction– And, it makes sense, considering her profession as founder of Du-Good Press, the first Black woman-owned printshop in the entire city of New York!
Her cozy print studio located at 19 Patchen Avenue in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, is a former dry cleaners that Diuguid transformed to fit her ever-growing need for space to hold all of her work and equipment after moving out of her living space in Greenpoint.
The Kansas City born artist moved to NYC in 2013 to pursue her art career. She credits a lot of her success to hard work and networking at art galleries and printmaking shops like Powerhouse Arts and The Hole.
In 2017, after reading Our Fathers; Making Black Men by her father, Lewis Diuguid, Leslie decided to name her business after her grandfather’s company, Du-Good Chemical as an ode to the generations of support she received.
As a child, Leslie’s days were spent shadowing her grandfather as he broke down complex science concepts like periodic table of elements. Conversations around school would often turn into demonstrations and discussions filled with science analogies.
Her upbringing and appreciation for science would eventually be the driving force behind her career choice and decision to become an entrepreneur. As her grandfather did, she wanted to focus solely on building connections with other artists and people in the neighborhood who were as passionate about art, so settling in Bed-Stuy was an easy decision for Diuguid.
“I was dead set on staying in Bed Stuy because of the method my grandfather used to just grow a community out of nothing. Like, there's stuff here and that's what I wanted to kind of weave myself into,” explained Diuguid
As an artist herself, Diuguid continues to build community by using her talents to work with those emerging and in the middle of their careers. Some artists include Brooklyn locals like Insil Jang and Na’ye Perez, whose Purple Hearts screenprint is on display at BRIC Media House.
“I think it's really helpful for people to see that things can still be made by hand,” said Diuguid. “And so I would describe it [printmaking] as a painting that's broken down into layers so that it can be recreated as something that's in multiples.”
Printmaking is a technique that includes taking one medium of artwork and rebuilding it, normally onto paper or fabric by forcing ink through a stenciled screen. Numbering each print allows the artists to sign off on the identical set as an edition.
As you step into her space, you’ll notice her artwork covers every wall.
As a one-woman show, Diuguid focuses on screenprinting edition pieces instead of custom designs for clothing and tote bags. In fact, she is passionate about teaching others how to create the pieces themselves. She currently teaches screen printing at The Cooper Union School of Art and has taught classes and workshops at The Museum of Arts and Design.
Her work lives outside of her studio in homes across the country and in museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editions of her prints will also be showcased in the lobby at Print Center in New York to honor small, local printshops that make art accessible.
“Some of the prints that I [create] have like deeper meanings for their stories behind them, and it reminds me of the artist and whatever journey they went through to come up with the original,” Diuguid said.
Visits to Du-Good Press are by appointment only, but prints can be purchased on her website here.
