I’ve just got to say it’s a good thing I was wearing my apron. This printing session turned out to be fast and furious.
I had several variables: fabric that was solid color before I screen printed it, fabric that had some other patterns before I screen printed it, and image variation of a positive and negative.
(A positive image means that you will be printing the shape of the thing you are depicting with the ink through your screen. A negative image means that you are printing the background and the shape of the thing you are depicting shows through from the background.)
There are lots of kinds of screens for printing. Traditionally screen printing was called silkscreening, because a piece of silk was stretched over a frame and the ink forced through the holes. Screens can actually be made out of any kind of mesh that will allow the ink to go through the holes. The mesh is blocked out in some way so that ink goes through some holes and not through others. If you block out the holes in simple, manual methods, for example with torn strips of paper, you get simple shapes. If you use a photographic method to get the image on the screen, you can print very detailed images.
The projects I worked on in this session used a screen created by a thermofax machine. I supplied a photo I took of some tree limbs and ordered two versions: one to print the positive of the limb and one to print the background.
Her’s the screen to print the positive.
Here’s the screen to print the negative.
And here’s how it goes:
Mix up some color that you want to print. (I am working with acrylic paints. I am printing black. (The olive green you see in the tray is just some left over paint that has dried.)
Then load some of the paint onto your screen along one edge.
Then pull the ink across the screen surface, forcing it down into the holes to the substrate you are printing, which is below the screen. I am using a plastic scraper as my squeegee. I have actual screen printing squeegees, but I like this scraper because the handle makes it easy to manipulate.
Now lift off the screen and look at what was printed.
My decision-making for this session was guided by the quilt I am creating. These colors are already in use in the work. I wanted to get some visual variety but keep it harmonious.
The fabric shown across the top is printed as a positive image. The two below are printed as the negative. By limiting the palette, these will all work well together.
Some other interesting things occurred when I printed on fabrics that had other patterns on them below the screen printing.
My apron got some paint on it, and my hands and fingernails needed a good scrub. Otherwise, All-OK. This fast and furious bit of printing yielded pieces I like and look forward to incorporating into a work-in-progress.
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Just a reminder – On Saturday and Sunday, November 18-19, I will be exhibiting in the Fall Festival of the Arts DeLand. DeLand is my hometown and I always look forward to this event. Great downtown and great art! If you are near central Florida, I hope you will visit. Festival information can be found at fallfestivaloftheartsdeland.com.
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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