Printing paper

I’ve been printing the past couple of days, and it has been a comedy routine…wind, rain, and dogs have been very helpful. I usually don’t print in January because of the temperature, but when I realized that I had put most of my printed paper in my new Etsy shop, I had a big panic attack. All I could think of was needing to make more paper. We are apparently not going to have a winter here in Southeastern Virginia, so that has been helpful. Anyway, I took some photos to document this process.

Bare naked screens

This is a big process even before the printing begins because of all the stuff that has to be hauled from my workshop to the backyard.  I prefer working outside for many reasons….sunshine is the perfect light, concrete is indestructible, I like using the garden hose to clean up, that sort of thing.

Printing slime, dyes, tools

Still more stuff that I find invaluable to the process.

Actual printing tools

I have expensive squeegees that I almost never use, bondo scrapers that I almost always use, hair picks, kiddie art rollers, and old credit cards, essentials in my silk screening

I am fairly picky about the paper I print on.  I like watercolor paper, bristol, good drawing paper, acrylic paper.  The different weights and finishes add texture to my prints which is often more important to me than color.

Venus, Queen of all she surveys and helper #1

Venus is in charge of security, stealing my lunch when I’m not looking and bossing the other helpers around.

Midian the Mild, helper #2

Midian is tasked with chasing all squirrels, bunnies and Postal Employees away from my printing supplies.

Whiskey the Busy, helper # 3

Whiskey insures that my workspace is as dangerous as possible by placing a grungy and slimy tennis ball directly in my path repeatedly during the entire printing process. These tennis balls are very effective roller skates.  Whiskey is a svelte 110 lbs. which allows him to occupy a great deal of space.  Whiskey is also my personal trainer in upper arm strength gained from throwing 705,342 soggy tennis balls every day.

Despite my helpers, I usually manage to accomplish a lot when I am printing. The end of day one saw all of my screens with images and textures that I would begin printing the next morning.  With the help of two beers, I slept well.

Screens that are no longer naked.

I don’t have pictures of the printing process because my hands get too covered in brightly colored printing slime, and none of my helpers have thumbs, so they can’t take pictures.  Here are some of the finished prints, however.  They are hanging on the fence that surrounds my garden.  It is a safe place for them to dry.

Screen prints in the breeze

And a few more prints.  I finished more that 60 prints on the second day.

Day two ended with a mad dash to get all my supplies, prints and helper dogs into the house before dark because rain was predicted for the next morning.  I finished the printing process in my workshop on day three.  This is particularly fun because all three of my helpers occupied the floor around my big table, so the entire morning was very exciting.  I also have to put my drying lines up, but they aren’t that far from the floor, ensuring that I get the maximum amount of print paste in my hair.

Prints hanging over my head in my workshop

And some more prints.  I finished another 50 prints on day three, so I now have plenty of prints to look at, fondle and admire.  Many of my earlier prints are available for sale in my Etsy shop which is cleverly titled “KatAllisonFiber”.  I’m going to talk my brilliant and beautiful daughter into teaching me to add a link so my shop will be easier to get to.  While you are looking for my shop, you might want to go take a look at “Bright Life Toys” as well.  My daughter  makes some of the most beautiful toys you’ll ever see.

More prints drying in the workshop

My constant companions

I’ve been working on a new loom. It has five separate warp faces, which I can join as I work. It basically lets me design a sequence of tapestries that come off the loon as a single piece. I just love these looms. The critters in the foreground are my helpers. They are quality control, physical trainer and comedy relief and they work very hard at it.

Printing, dying and paper making

I’ve been working 18 hour days for the past week, and I love every minute.  Even I am doubting my sanity since I’m working outside in this heat wave, but I’d rather it be too hot than cold, especially since I’ve been soaked to my knees just about every day. Besides, everything is drying very fast which mean I can over dye and print on the same day.  Even the dogs abandoned me and went inside.  I’ve run through 30 yards of Kona muslin, lost track of how many balls of yarn I’ve dyed and painted, and finished about 60 sheets of paper.  I vat dyed some in a great grape purple and the others are post dyed with fiber reactives. I’m also experimenting with using block prints on my silk screens.  The effect is particularly good when I screen an image and then add more of the images in acrylics with he block.  Still more to go before the summer ends and Portland Art and Soul, but this is my favorite kind of work.  Cindy’s brilliant new travel loom is a joy to use, and we won’t have to cart as much stuff around because it has the stand built into it.  I’m going  to build myself a couple of them in copper so I can work bigger.  Cindy is a marvel.

screen prints and the importance of experimenting

Screens are done, mostly. I still have one to paint and screen, but I had to find some of Grannie’s curtains. They are so much better than the ridiculously over priced fabric sold for silk screens. I could spend lots of hours explaining why, but I’d even get bored before too long. I’ve been thinking about ways to add more structure, and maybe a little less abstraction to my deconstructed prints. I like the background texture, but I wanted a way to add detail, focus, a pretty picture…whatever. I put a block print that I am particularly fond of under the screen, pulled it with thickened procion and I have a picture. Haven’t tried to print it yet, but the screen is drying in the back yard, and I have to teach a chain maille class this afternoon. As soon as I can scurry back, I’ll be pulling prints. If I can figure out how, I finished a new piece…it’s the piece I pulled off a loom for the Art and Soul class. Right now I like it.

Teaching

I spent the weekend teaching.  It is hard work, but I  love it.  Both classes were meant for beginners, but I had some pretty serious beginners.  I know the old cliche is that those who can do, and the others teach, but that may be the dumbest piece of junk I’ve ever heard.  I think that anyone who loves a craft or art form, and who wants to get better at it, should teach.  I learn so much from my students.  They help me fine down process.  They force me to evaluate my own notions about my work.  They require that I put my concepts and processes down on paper, so I have to organize.  They keep me humble because no matter how confident I am in my own knowledge and talent, they always ask a question I can’t answer.  They keep me studying, experimenting and learning because they want to know what’s next.  They also pay me, which allows me to buy more art supplies.  It just doesn’t get better than that.

tools, errands and other blights on peace

I’ve managed to get the paint on my new silk screens, which is every bit as much fun as most medical procedures. Whiskey wasn’t a bit of help, and because I had to throw 7000 grime and slobber covered balls to keep him from trying to jump over a fence, my screens have a decided organic look to them. I like the organic look most of the time, anyway. The big problem is that my staple gun finally died. My husband bought me a new one because my old one was showing signs of demise, but he bought it at one of those discount tool places. So yes, after one day of screen production, my new staple gun is also dead. I’m going to bury them together in the back yard. I’m off to buy another staple gun. I hope that my next post is about deconstructed screen printing on hand made paper.

Screens

That’s what I’m doing today…new silk screens.  I love making this stuff myself…cutting the wood, assembling the frames, stretching screen fabric.. all of it.  I worked with a young artist a few days ago,showed him how to teach kids to do simple silk screen prints and how to use common objects to do prints.  He is a fine arts grad and a talented young man.  We talked about how he hated process in his art, that he wanted to just start putting paint on canvas and didn’t want to do any more prep than to squirt acrylics out and load a brush.  I’ve been thinking about that for a few days.  My work is all process.  I build my own tools, weave and dye, pull my own paper, carve my own  blocks.  I also teach a lot.  I teach mostly process, in fact, can’t remember teaching a class that wasn’t process driven.  Cindy and I just finished teaching our first class for Art and Soul Retreats in Hampton VA.  We are getting ready to teach at the A & S in Portland in October.  We are hoping to be able to do the Vendor’s sale at the show.  I have already pulled 130 big sheets of paper to “post dye” and sell.  I’ll be vat dying more pulp, and dying and silk screening fabric panels, also for sale.  And all process.  I would be very happy to just produce fabric and paper for other people to use.  I’d probably have a piece of art going all the time, but process is my great love.  That’s why I think that I am a craftsman and not a true artist.  I also enjoy this kind of philosophical discussion.  Anyhow, my screens need painting before I can put the fabric on.  Fortunately my faithful companions, Venus, Midian and Whiskey are very patient with my endless puttering.

first

I’m mostly writing this because my son and web-master said I have to so we can see if it works.  I am very busy putting the final touches on last-minute Halloween costumes.  I would like to be very busy playing with the fabric paper I have drying in my workshop.  I’ve been making and using this stuff for a year or so now,  and it is up there with gel medium, fiber reactives, silk screen drawing fluid and my dogs as my happy makers.    Hope this blogging business is as much fun as my kids tell me it is.