work in progress: screens

A background in graphic design is what turns textile print design into my true passion, a gusto steered by creativity, design process, knowledge of materials, techniques and, most certainly, a point of view (or if you prefer, the why). I have always been mystified by how a stencil on a screen translates so flawlessly and artistically onto paper or fabric (or any substrate, for that matter) and by the perfect sound of the squeegee on the mesh as the pigment is "pulled". Screen printing demands knowledge of the methodologies and required equipment. It all depends on what one wants to do with the medium and what one wants to accomplish through it.
The task at hand is silk screening images onto fabric with the use of heat setting pigments. The first step then, is to determine what technique will be used to transfer the images onto fabric (open screen, paper stencils, photo stencils, etc.). This endeavour requires a photo emulsion stencil on a 110 mesh, which is  the  mesh count ideal for printing on cloth when the image does not have many small details (click here to learn more about mesh counts--you will find it as 109).
The next step is to acquire the necessary paraphernalia. The official supplier for all things "images on textiles" here in Toronto (from screens to squeegees, to pigments or dyes, some fabrics, and everything in between) is G&S Dye, on Dundas and University. It has everything, including the nicest people behind the counter.
The following steps add up to the many methodologies that already exist regarding photo emulsion and its preparation, application and exposure. It is a personal record of how I recently worked with Saati Chem emulsion from scratch, which was really not different of how I went about when using Ulano, and Speedball in the past.

1. Sensitized the emulsion following the manufacturer's instructions and mixed it well.
2. Allowed the emulsion to set (gave it an hour).
3. Coated the screen--there are as many different coating techniques as there are printers. In the end, it is a matter of finding what works for you. My MO includes two coats on the outside, after the first coat the screen is turned 90 degrees to apply the second one.
4. Dried the screen infront of fans for about an hour and gave it a last blast of hot air with a hair dryer to make sure all humidity was gone (careful with this step, too much heat may "set" the emulsion on the mesh, and removing it, later on, can turn into a laborious task).
5. Exposed it for 3 minutes and 45 seconds--my original was on vellum. Note that each light source hast its own, very specific instructions.
6. Washed it to remove the unexposed emulsion, until the design on the screen was fully visible, with nice, sharp edges.
7. Let it dry and then, with the aid of some emulsion (in the dark room I put a tiny bit of emulsion in a very small container, maybe a quarter tea spoon), covered the pinholes left on the screen. After they dried, the screen was re-exposed at 3 minutes, to harden the recently applied emulsion.
8. Taped the screen on both the ouside and inside.

From left to right: 1-Vellum has a translucent quality that easily differentiates it from regular paper, Curry's (Dundas and University) carries a great selection of vellum and mylar at very reasonable prices. Above Ground (McCaul) does as well. 2-A chop stick is a favourite tool of mine, it is mostly used to apply ink on mylar, or in this case, to carefully touch-up the screens with a bit of photo emulsion. 3-Pinholes are covered, and the screen is ready for the next step.

Once the screen is completely dry and patched-up, it is all set for "masking". From left to right: 1-Blue tape is used to mask the outside edges where the screen mesh meets the wood. This is not regular blue masking tape, this one is of higher quality, and will last for the whole print production. If it is not left for a very long time, that is, more than a month, it will come out rather easily without leaving any glue behind. 2-The inside edges and corners are covered with regular masking tape. It is usually removed after each print run, as it is not convenient to leave it on for a while as it may damage the screen with adhesive and pigment residue.

The ultimate screen test is through printing, which will be documented in another post. Just in case, you are very new to screen printing, click here for comprehensive introduction to the medium, courtesy of Dharma Trading Co. An excellent resource as well.

work in progress: colour

A spectacular opportunity just came up (the kind where you can see the heavens open and hear the celestial hosts singing just for you), and I am embracing it with everything. It will be particularly  interesting to use this conduit to document the different stages of the venture.

My work is very process oriented, and though this is a project I have been working on and off for a good while, I decided to start from square one, on a clean, fresh sheet of sketchbook paper.

So far this week, the agenda has been about colour and colourways that can easily relate to a broader audience (the designs will be part of later posts). It kicked off with the selection of a number of samples (mostly paint chips and embroidery thread) to get a general idea of what was "speaking" to me (no colour whisperer jokes, please).

From left to right: 1-The "weeding" process begins. 2-Sketchbook page. On top, the final  colour selections represent the general targets. The middle section has the pigment compounds. When one is (finally) on target, the date is stamped next to it, to better identify the chosen one. The bottom section has the printed swatches (on cotton) from these formulas.

The next choice came from my immediate surroundings, and it represents the house from our wonderful neighbours (B&R) across the street. I've always admired how the colouring subtly changes depending on the time of day and the time of year. It requires the eye to average it into the perfect neutral, making it extremely relevant to the products I want to print. This fabulous, very elusive hue, took three days to translate well on to fabric, and is now referred to as B's House.

From left to right: 1-A "swatch" from B's house. 2-Pigments are mixed in a translucent base (vehicle) so that it is ready to be tested on fabric (with the aid of a small silk screen and squeegee). 3-Swatches of various substrates (cottons and linens) from different concoctions, the number of passes were recorded as well.

By yesterday afternoon, there was an overabundance of swatches on the studio's printing table, which is tremendously helpful during the editing process.

cts co-op workshop: dawn dupree

Every year, the remarkable program and scheduling committee at the Contermporary Textile Studio Co-Op in Toronto--where I have the privilege of being a member--organises a week-long workshop with a high profile textile artist. This summer, we had the fortune of receiving the very talented Dawn Dupree.
Dawn is also the author of the book Heat Transfer Techniques, which has a plethora of information  and clear instructions on alternative uses for the heat press.

It turned out to be an extremely productive week where we learned new methodologies and  revised familiar ones, with a twist, of course. By mid week Dawn regaled us with a lecture at the Textile Museum of Canada, where we learned more about influences and methodologies within her bountiful, versatile and extraordinary body of work.

We started with mark-making exercises, using tools of our own devise. These exercises are  always fun and liberating, where prolificness is the norm, enabling a very successful editing process later on. Our most engaging images were later transferred to silk screens for printing.

From left to right: 1&2-Marks made with tools I made out of hemp twine held tightly using clothespins and tape. 3-Marks made with chopsticks, detailing a section with an artist pen. All instances used Speedball's India ink.

We used several foil sheets during the sessions, and the ones that worked the best were those brought by Dawn from overseas. The colours were rather unusual and rendered excellent results. The sample at the centre of the image is one that did not work very well (I'm not sure about the supplier), however, the results were intriguing enough.

Marks made with a can top. The adhesive was screenprinted on fabric, and the foil ironed on top. The negative image left on the foil sheets may be further used--the possibilities are endless.

We used very diverse resists, from maylar stencils, to textured open fabrics, to flour, etc.

From left to right: 1-Materials used for resist, archived within the pages of a sketchbook. 2-Open-screen resist technique using dyes on Habotai.

Many, many more techniques and issues were explored during this very inspiring, recharging, and unforgettable week. It always takes a little while to process it all.