Long before I became aware of print day in May, I had planned to take a Marbleizing paper class with Cynthia McGuirl.And I am so happy that I did.
Her beautiful studio is in Thomaston, Maine, which is about 3 hours north of where I live. But is was a lovely day for a drive. Cynthia had prepared at least 8 varieties of paper with alum so they would be ready for printing. She made a water and methyl cellulose bath as the printing surface. And every color in the rainbow of paint for making “modern” marbleized paper.
We experimented and printed for hours.
The process is very addictive. It is so easy to learn form one print and say, “just one more” And the one more, and one more and before you know it the whole day has passed.
I like the non-traditional shapes and big patterns. But it is hard to just stop dropping more paint on the surface.
We used big and little eye droppers, fan brush and pointy sticks and straws to move the paint around the surface.
Now the challenge may be what to do with some of these prints and papers. For now I am just going to admire them.
Rainy days are great for taking silhouette like photos that can be used to create stencils for screen printing.
Today I stopped an took a few photos of this tree. I tried to capture mostly tree and sky so that there was a high contrast of black and white with out much distraction.
Then I edited it in photo shape to create a strong black and white image. I reduce it in size on the copy machine and printed a transparency.
Then I burned this emulsion based screen. The screen material is made by EZscreenprint. I was pleasantly surprised. The tree was quite delicate and complex. I was not sure how much of the detail would be lost in the creation of the screen. But it worked!
I tested out the tree and printed it on a cotton tote bag, a t-shirt, and some painted papers.
These papers can be trimmed and made into cards or small mixed media prints, or added to some artist’s books.
I get lots of questions about screen printing at home and the benefits of using the process. So I wanted to share the answers here with you.
1 – What is screen printing?
It is a printing process that uses a “stencil” to control the passage of ink through a screen to create a repeatable image. Stencils can be made with paper, drawing fluid, emulsion and even wax. The stencil blocks out all the areas of the screen except for where you want the ink to print.
2 – Do you need special machines to screen print?
Easy answer is no. I do use my computer, scanner and printer to manipulate my images. I bet you already have a computer and printer.
3 – Do you need a special studio space?
Not really. I have screen printed in my apartment. It is easier if you can claim some space for printing and drying your prints. The bigger you print the more space you will need. But to get started you can use the tables and floor space that you already have.
4 – What tools do you need?
That will depend on what you want to print on and the kind of design that you want to create. But at a minimum you can get started screen printing with just:
An embroidery hoop
Tightly woven curtain sheer
Paper, scissors and tape
ink (acrylic paint might work in a pinch)
old credit card
Check out my free tutorial below using just these materials.
5 – What kind of ink do you need?
It is always best to get the ink that is designed for the surface that you are printing on, so acrylic screen ink for fabric or paper. The ink should be smooth and not runny. If the ink is too fluid too much will go through the screen and you may have a blobby mess. In a pinch with a “disposable” screen and working quickly you could use acrylic paint, but it is not ideal. There is a screen print medium that is available to mix with Golden acrylics
6 – Is the screen print process toxic?
It is only as toxic as the inks that you choose to use. So if you use acrylic inks the process is pretty clean.
7 – What can you print on?
In a home studio the easier things to print on are paper, fabric, wood and cardboard. It is possible to print on ceramics and glass if you are familiar with those techniques.
8 – Do you need to know how to draw to screen print?
I would say not necessary. You can create wonderful geometric images and patterns, you can manipulate photos, use can use text and even copyright free clip art. So don’t let the thought that you can’t draw stop you from trying screen printing.
9 – Does screen printing take a lot of time?
That will depend on your project and goals. Screen printing does require some planning, ink management, and clean up, so it is not as spontaneous as monotype printing. I would break that project into 3 steps, image design and stencil creation, printing and clean up. So a small run of a simple design, in one color, on paper could be done in an afternoon.
10 – What are the benefits of screen printing? And why would you choose the process over another?
I choose to screen print when I want to print a lot of the same image, whether it be yardage of fabric or multiples of cards. I would use screen printing to print very detailed images, like high contrast photographic designs that I could not obtain any other way without a press. Screen printing is also great for printing text.
If you would like to explore screen printing, then join us in the online printmaking class, Pulling Screen Prints. Next class starts Monday, Sept. 9th 2019. Read the details on the printmaking workshop page.
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It is very possible to print t-shirts in a home style studio. You just need a little space planning.
You might want to print a bunch of shirts for a party or fundraiser or to share your message. You can use very simple cut paper method, as I did in the gecko and squares printed shirts above.
If you have a delicate drawing or intricate design then it is easy to use pre-coated emulsion screens, like those found at Ezcreenprint.
If you are ready to explore screen printing t-shirts and much more, then join us in the upcoming online screen printing class, Pulling Screen Prints. This is a 4 week class that creatively explores several different methods of screen printing on paper or fabric.
