Screen Printing Part 1

Last night I went to the first half of a screen printing workshop at Wingtip Press.  I have been excited about going to this workshop because screen printing is something you can do on fabric.

In this workshop we are using drawing fluid on the screen to create a two color print. We are working on paper.  I had drawn my image ahead of time and figured out where the two different colors would be.

The first thing we did was draw the design for the first color on the screen with the drawing fluid.  Below is mine.

After the fluid is dry, you add a screen filler.  Below is another student's screen with the filler on it.

The next step is to wash out the fluid after the filler is dry.  Then you can tape off any areas that didn't get covered and the screen is ready to print.

Molly, the instructor, is set up and ready to pull a print.

We were using an assortment of different papers to see the different results.  Below is another student's print.

Sounds easy, right?  Well, it was not that easy for the first time.  For several different reasons, my screen prep didn't turn out right and I had to start over and do another screen.  Very frustrating.

Even if the screen is prepared well, there can still be some issues with the printing.  Several people were having some trouble.

As with anything, the process takes practice and learning from mistakes.  Next week, we will do the second color.

Here is my first color print with my second screen.

I'm not sure how excited I am now about doing this on fabric.  But I realize this is my first time trying this and there are also other ways to do screen printing besides this way.

Stay tuned next week for part 2 and my final print.