still so much to learn about silk screening!

Tonight was my second last silk screen class. I worked frantically trying to accomplish far more than was humanly possible during a 3 hour period. Unfortunately, I am only human and I wasn’t able to do everything I set out to. Pressure is on for next week. The whole silk screen process is very labor and equipment intensive, and I’ve learned so much during these last seven weeks. Aside from learning the basic techniques, I am starting to understand how I would like to use silk screening in my work.

My goal for completion of this course is to have several screens of my own, with imagery applied using photo emulsion. Silk screening can be done with stencils or using photo emulsion. The stencil technique is one that I could manage on my own at my print studio. The photo emulsion can apparently be done at home, but it is much easier when you have the correct equipment – say, like the equipment at the Alberta College of Art. At first I thought I would like to have many small images on my screens, so that I could mask off the one I wanted to print while having a large selection to choose from. Now I think I would like to have screens that are filled with imagery that could be used to create overall pattern for fabric, or for backgrounds on fabric or paper. It’s a whole different ball game.

Here are some samples of overall design that I’ve printed during the last week. The messy bands of color would traditionally be masked so that they wouldn’t print. Far be it from me to be traditional! The colors are a bit off on all but the turquoise fabric. That’s what I get for doing my photos with less than ideal light. If I get some better ones I’ll swap them out, but don’t hold your breath. You get the idea of what they look like, and that’s what counts.

I printed some place mats and tea-towels. Now I realize that I would prefer to carve lino blocks to print simple images like this. There is work involved in printing and clean up, but it pales in comparison to what is involved with silk screening. I’ll be saving the screening for special projects, or at least for days when I have lots of time.