More Deconstructive Screen Printing

Deconstructed Screen Prints

I believe I can now officially say I'm having fun with this interesting process. Deconstructive Screen Printing is not new but it is new to me for sure.

I still had a couple of 43" x 43" dry cuts of my cotton fabric which had been soda soaked from last weeks adventure into printing and I decided to make a screen and print them off. I began by drawing a design on the screen using some print paste and black dye which was left over from last Sunday. I was not sure the dye would be any good but I hate throwing materials away so I used what I already had mixed.

The print paste I mixed with the black dye was really too thin and after I finished the design I realized the lines of the design were running together. I set the screen in the sun to see if that would stop the bleeding but the black dye just kept spreading out until there was very little open screen. It also ran down the face of the screen before it dried so there were drip lines all over the design. I was not excited about this development.

I was tempted to wash it all off the screen but opted to bring it back into the studio and add another design layer on top of the first using thicker print paste. I added some lines of yellow and some of green. I allowed this to dry and then printed.

What happened was a total surprise. The first print was a white design with a black background. The print paste I was using had no dye so the black came from the original design and the yellow and green design acted as a resist. Print 2 was much the same but more color began to show. Prints 3 and 4 were much lighter with more yellow and green beginning to show along with the black which continued to print. You can clearly see the drips. In the first two prints they are white. Then they are black.

Prints: 1 top left, 2 left bottom, 3 top right, and 4 bottom right.

Detail of Print 1

I then decided to introduce a dose of yellow into the print paste. I was able to print 4 full images and 2 half images before the resist areas began to break down and I ran out of space to print.

I am very happy with what happened and I my understanding of the process is a good bit better.

Prints with yellow dye added to the print paste.

Detail of an area where I used the print paste with yellow dye.

My idea is to print a number of additional designs to be used with this one to see if I can actually complete a piece with this. I would love to be able to repeat the interesting effects that developed in these pieces. It is such a different way of thinking and very exciting. I am enjoying the richness of the marks, the textures and the color.

Thank you for stopping by and I welcome your comments.

Deconstructed Screen Prints

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Last Sunday I drove down to Athens, Ga. and spent the day with Elizabeth Barton learning something about deconstructed screen printing. Today as I pulled a few shots of my efforts onto my MacBook I saw the slideshow option and decided to put the pictures in that format.

The results of my experiments are modest but I learned a good deal. In order to bring the fabric home on Sunday I rolled them up while they were very wet and they bleed a good deal.

What you are seeing:

1. A yellow and black print where I attempted to pickup the texture of a woven plastic onion bag. There is a second image of this at the end which has been washed. It held the color very nicely.

2. The drop cloth from under several prints. The color here is very strong....go figure.

3. Several versions of the 4 unit spiral before washing and then there are some of this screen after washing later on.

4. Green and yellow print again trying to pickup texture from the onion bag.

I think the most important points I gathered from this day in the studio were:

1. Let the prints dry out before covering. I never understood just exactly what that ment. The work really needs to feel dry to the touch.

2. Use a screen that is the correct mesh such as 10xx or 12xx (you should verify this information) I tried printing from a screen that was too dense and it was a total waste.

3. Don't put the thicken dye on too heavy. I made this mistake on the dense screen so I had a double bad whammy and it was a waste of effort. The prints are very sketchy. I haven't washed them as yet so they are not pictured.

I have no idea as to how I might use this fabric or if I will use this fabric. I was simply experimenting to learn the technique. When I see a need for this process I hope to be able to use it successfully as I love working with the screens and dye and I will be trying again.

Thank you for dropping by and I love hearing from you.