Looking back 06-18-20

In June 2009 I took a class in deconstructed screen printing with Rayna Gilman.  What an eye opener that was.  Some of my experiments were dreadful, but I had a couple that turned out very well and I was surprised!  I have only done the technique once since then; I had a specific look in mind and was successful with that.  

This is one of four that I did in class off of the same screen.  There is a lot of paint on the screen so one can just keep moving the screen to a fresh piece of fabric  and squeegy-ing until there isn't enough paint left to print.   This was about the middle run.  To make the impression I used net, plastic scraps, sequin waste, and shredded bark from a crepe myrtle tree.  I like it so much that I fear that if I do something with it I will ruin it!  Someday....

Rayna and I in the classroom.  One thing this brings home is how much I have aged in eleven years.  I was only 70 then, now I am 81.  Still wearing the same hat, scarf, and earrings.

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Traveling 06-23-15

I am in San Diego tonight.  Had a meeting today to work on "printing beds" for deconstructed screen printing.  We watched Kerr Grabowski's excellent video - well, the part about making the printing bed. - and I helped the other ladies put together their beds.  I may make another one larger than the one I made for Rayna Gillman's class a few years ago.  Maybe the ladies will get together to actually print with some screens.  I enjoyed the process a lot before and think I would enjoy it again, but it seems more like fun and less like work when I do it with someone else.  Here is a print I did in Rayna's class.

 

Had lunch at a Thai restaurant that was excellent.  Thai food isn't very photogenic, so no pictures.

 

I'll be home tomorrow evening sometime. 

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Deconstructed Screen Printing 06-15-09

Click on photos to enlarge.

Here is Rayna Gillman from New Jersey who does fabulous dyeing. She is in SCalifornia on a teaching trip and I snagged a spot in her two day class this past weekend in Fullerton (next town over from Placentia). She kept reminding us that there are no mistakes in this process - just opportunities to overprint, discharge, stamp, etc. until one is happy with the fabric created. I wish I could have gone on to the five day class she is doing this week at Quilters Studio in Newbury Park (northeast of Los Angeles). But I had already scheduled some things for the week and it wasn't possible. I KNOW they are having fun from the blogs I read.

Here are the "principals" in this event - from the left: Rayna Gillman, teacher; organizer Carol Henke; organizer Holly Lester. Out in the hall on a drying rack to Holly's left is a piece that I screen that reminds me of a horror movie or a massacre - it is so bloody red. But I can keep adding layers until I like what I have - or I can cut it up and use it for red pieces in a quilt.

This image is of a screen prepared for printing - it looked so great I thought I should have a picture of what I started with. I printed five images with the screen, each a little different, until there wasn't enough dye left to make much of an impression. I will post those five later so you can see a progression (or you can check on Rayna's blog right now). I didn't ask the other students if I could post their work on my blog, when I have secured their assent I will post a few pictures. However, Rayna has posted some excellent images.

Yes, it is Rayna and Del in the classroom. Rayna is wearing a hand dyed shirt made by a friend, but not using the methods we were learning. And I am wearing an original Rayna scarf that I had just purchased from her. I have worn with orange and teal and beige and they all looked great, I think it is an excellent addition to my "wardrobe".

See Rayna's work on her website: http://www.studio78.net
Read her blog at: http://www.studio78notes.blogspot.com
Buy her book "Create Your Own Hand-printed Cloth: Stamp, Screen and Stencil with Everyday Objects" - from C&T Publishers 2008 Or buy it directly from Rayna.

There are also photos on Cindy Cooksey's blog: http://www.cookseyville.blogspot.com