Jumping Off My Lilly Pad

    I have been floating around in this pond of fabric dyeing all summer and am almost done  with my 200 meter goal for the summer. So I decided it was time to take a break from the dyeing and try one of the new techniques from my last workshop.  ( And thanks to some wise words from a friend.)

     Deconstructed screen printing was it yesterday. So  I jumped in and tried working with some screens I had prepared last week. I didn’t read a thing from my notes but just jumped right in. I knew I didn’t have the right print surface prepared but just tacked my fabric down with some clamps. It actually worked ok, but the clamps didn’t allow me to print off the side of the surface. It was kind of gooey but fun to see how the screen broke down with repeated sweeps of the squeegee and print paste.

I had brought two screens with me. They were varnished with polyurethane so didn’t need taping. I did forget to tape in a well though.

First draw through. Nice marks aren’t they?

 First screen after the washout. Much lighter than I thought  it would be.  Next time I can be bolder or I can add color to this.

Second screen after the washout.

Close ups of some of the more interesting areas. Really nice prints . I need to remember a few more things next time and make an official printing surface but this was a great first try and a technique I look forward to using again.

I only have about 30 more meters left to finish up of fabric dyeing here in Vermont. My friend is coming next week and we will spend two days doing surface design techniques. I made a list of all I wanted to do and it is long.

Jumping off the lily pad from the pond I was in to something new definitely helped push me forward. (Thanks friend for your wise words.)

Be creative, my friends.