Workshop Treat: Learning how to screen print using stencils

When I was at University one of my tutors basically told be to stay away from print.  I was very messy and didn't grasp the concept of what was involved in the process.  At the time I found the whole process very long with minimal results.  For example, it takes you so long to prepare a collograph, cutting it out, attaching the pieces to the card, sealing it etc. Then you have a so, so print or in my case many messy prints.

Today I had a go at screen printing, which I didn't do at uni.  It seems on the surface a simple way to produce an image. But no, yet again there was lots of preparation to produce a single image.  This was going to be a two colour print so I learnt about colour separation and also how my stencil would or wouldn't work (that bit I definitely found difficult, I wanted more detail in the ears and was unable to do this because you can't have floaters).


Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my day and feel confident that I could do this at home with minimal equipment which is how I like it.  Achievable, yes.  Lots of practice needed, most definitely.

Sarah Holden, the tutor for the day was most encouraging and I did glean a nugget from her. "As you do each print you will learn what not to do next time" (this sounded like I was back at Uni). I remember at the time thinking, that if I knew what I was doing in the first place I would know what not to do.  Despite this I battled on with my inner niggles.

Print for me,  is a back to front technique, always working in the opposite direction from what you expect.  I'm afraid my brain struggles a lot with that.  It's the negative space thing again. I guess if you were doing it all the time it would become second nature.

Printing the first colour was fairly straightforward apart from not flooding the screen enough or putting too much paint when I went across the screen a  second time, and getting paint in places that wasn't supposed to have paint.  That sounded very familiar.

When it came to the second colour, things got a little more technical.  We had to print onto a plastic sheet which would serve as the registration guide to line the two colour prints  up. Again, easier said than done.  It was very fiddly trying to get the two images to line up.  I was just off each time, but I think perhaps an acetate sheet would be better than using a plastic document over, it was way too flimsy and moved about too much when you were trying to line things up.

Anyway, here's my most successful print that just happened to be on calico fabric, which I use a lot in my work.  It's supposed to be my poodle, Lola.  A little thin in the face perhaps but I'm happy.  I will definitely be investing in the basic equipment to make up a few screens for printing and explore this further.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees - Winter Theme - Session Three

During this session the group used a portable printing press to produce a series of prints using the collograph plates they had prepared from the last couple of sessions.

Following a demonstration by Carole, we (yes, me included) inked up our plates then wiped them down removing as much ink as we could but leaving enough so that there would be an impression on the paper at printing time.

This isn't as easy as it looks, although there were some in the group that took to it like a ducks to water. "You just add some colour and wipe it off", came one comment. Mmm my colour sort of squigged together and there didn't seem to be any definition apart from purple.

Once the ink had been applied then rubbed back the time came to lay out the plates on the press. It was here that a little thought was need to the layout as these prints would serve to be pages in our Winter themed books.

Next came the rolling of the printing press.  We were taught to do a number of runs through the press, the first being too heavy on the ink, the subsequent ones being lighter but more successful in showing the lines and marks that had been added in the first two weeks of preparation.

Here's just one of the prints that was created.  If you would like to see more from the session please visit here.  And whilst all this printerly activity was going on, Phiona was in and out of the kitchen making cups of tea and coffee to keep us replenished. This was balanced with a range of snacks organised by Carole.

A job well done, by everyone I think.  Next week they'll be taking their prints along with other ideas and making them into books.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees - Winter Theme - Session One

Well, what with all the dreadful weather over the past month, taking a walk through Kingwood woods was totally out of the question.  So instead Carole and I decided to use the first session for creativity.  On the menu was collographs, run by Carole and she certainly didn't disappoint.  She brought a selection of examples so the group could understand a little bit about the process. It really is amazing what wonderful results can be achieved with this print technique.  Here's an example of one of Carole's collograph printing plates. I chose this image as it seems rather apt as we are heading towards Valentine's Day.

Following a quick demonstration by Carole, we were all give a piece of mount board, a pencil and a cutting blade.  The pencil to draw out our design, a blade to either score the surface or cut and lift layers from the board.  Here's my design, a barren tree in the moonlight,  (although I was only about halfway through my cutting out) I managed to cut away half the moon by mistake.  Ah well we live and learn.

Wandering around the room, it was lovely to see everyone fully engaged. One of the group commented on how relaxing she found the process was.

As usual, the two hours of creativity flew by.  Next week we will continue to prepare plates for printing.  Until our next cuppa.......

Creative Activity for the Wind in the Willows show at the The Core Theatre

I had a lovely two days working at the Core Theatre in Corby running a creative workshop for families going to see the Christmas show which was the Wind in the Willows.

Using the characters of Toad, Mole, Badger and Rattie, I carved out some rubber stamps that could be inked up and used as the main feature in a bookmark or badge. There was also sequins for embellishing and a little bit of simple stitching.  A great activity to get the family involved.

I love the final results.

Book of Days Project - Day Two

Carole was the lead artist and showed both groups some simple printmaking techniques using her portable printing press.  There was plenty of materials to choose from, feathers, lace and various shapes. And I think both groups enjoyed the process.

This week we had some new faces and some people from the previous week couldn't make it at both libraries.  It's a good job that Carole and I had factored this into the project and made up some spare books.

It is always interesting how at the beginning of the session you see puzzled faces but by the end more confident faces appear and the pages are carefully planned accordingly.  I can't wait to see what the group will come up with next week as they start to fill their pages.

As usual the sessions rounded up with a lovely cup of tea or coffee all served in Carole's lovely vintage china.  We both agreed that this was our favourite print from the day.