10 household items that are good for screen printing

screen printing / /

Screen Printing can be done in your home studio with a few tools and a bit of planning.
 screen print with an ezscreen emulsion screen

You may even have some items that make screen printing at home easier. Here are 10 tools for screen printing:

10 tools for screen printing

  1. Masking tape and clear packing tape is great for blocking of areas of the screen. It saves on clean up time.
  2. Wax Paper – is good for paper stencils and testing out design ideas.
  3. Old t-shirts torn into small rags are essential for taking care of inky fingers and tools.
  4. Small plastic containers are great for resting your ink coated squeeze on
  5. An old book is great for printing on the pages. This allows you to print with abandon and not be worried about precious and expensive print paper.
  6. Plastic page protector is helpful for creating simple registration systems.
  7. Wooden sticks are good for scooping ink and medium out of the jar.
  8. Bondo scrapers and old credit cards can work as squeezes for small screens.
  9. Round embroidery hoops function as stretcher frames for quick impressions.
  10. And small round plastic containers are great for saving small amounts of ink.

screen print flower

Get support from an online class. Check out the current offerings on the printmaking workshop page.

 

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Screen Print to make a lot of impressions

screen printing / /

Most folks are familiar with screen printing. We all have screen printed t-shirts and bags and things.

screen printed t shirt

The basic idea is to attach a design to a finely woven screen and then pull ink through the design.

If you have the right inks and screens you can print on paper, fabric, ceramics, glass, wood and more.

The design is a stencil and can be made from paper, contact paper, screen filler, acrylic paint or light sensitive emulsion.

EZscreen emulsion screen for printing

Screen is usually stretched on a frame, but it can be framed with duct tape, as with EZscreens or stretched on an embroidery hoop. Get a free tutorial on making paper stencils and embroidery hoop screens below.

Get a FREE easy screen print tutorial
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screen frames for printmaking

 

make lots of impressions with screen printing

We will:

  • stretch screens
  • print on paper or fabric
  • use paper stencils
  • explore drawing fluid and screen filler type stencils and
  • make emulsion based screen with pre-coated screens like the EZScreen.

Get support from an online class. Check out the current offerings on the printmaking workshop page.

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Making a few Tetra Pak prints

mark making tools / /

I recently started the Purple Carrot, meal service and one bonus is that I get beans in Tetra Paks.tetra pak for printmaking

My style of learning is to play, make mistakes and discover what I like. I had some trace monoprints of chairs on the wall and decided to make one into a Tetra Pak printing plate.

chair drawings by linda germain

The plate is part collograph and part intaglio. I like the really dark areas which is the collograph style mark. The dark areas are created by slicing into and removing the top sliver layer of the Tetra pak.

intaglio Tetra pak printing plate

It reveals the thin cardboard layer that sucks up a lot of ink. I really like the way the folds of the package hold the ink.

chair print by linda germain

I use the Akua Intaglio ink and the X-cut Xpress embossing press to make these prints. I used dry Masa paper to print on.

playing with mark making tools

This one above I was just playing with mark making tools to see what is possible the the Tetra Pak and the tools that I already have. I used embossing tools and tracing wheels and knife.

Happy Printing!

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Try something New

inspiration / /

If you are looking to breathe new life into your art practice, try a completely new skill. I just started a clay class at my local art center and my mind is buzzing with new ideas.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

The ways that this class is feeding my printmaking practice:

  • Getting me excited about making
  • Thinking about patterns, textures and surface design
  • Making me embrace the beginners mind
  • Helping me to form goals about what I want to learn and accomplish

And this is just after one class!

trace monoprint with watercolor

So if you want a creative boost step out of your usual and get a class in a new medium. You could:

For me it is important to be able to start the class/learn as soon as I can. Happy making!

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Value in scribbling – loosen up!

trace monoprint / /

Paul Klee is quoted, “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible.”

Scribbling is an automatic, loose, expressive line drawing. It is guttural and filled with emotion. The surrealist and abstract expressionist made scribbling ok.

One of my favorite “scribblers” is Cy Twombly. He did huge scribble like paintings. Do a google image search and enjoy.

Of course you are familiar with the action painting style of Jackson Pollock.

I also love the large brush stroke paintings by Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell.

What is it that is appealing about scribbling?

  • It is raw and authentic
  • It tells a different story to different viewers
  • Maybe it says what can’t be said with recognizable forms

scribble drawing

My scribbles are not going to get me into an exhibit or museum, but they do free up my mark making.

scribble trace monoprint by linda germain

I did a series of 30 small expressive style drawings, using the trace monoprint method and Akua inks.

expressive drawing by linda germain

I was experimenting with different pencils, pens and crayons to transfer the ink in different ways.

use different tools to make different marks

My drawings/prints went from chaotic to quiet and back and forth again. I think making art is like the ups and downs of a gentle roller coaster ride. In the end I had discovered some new tools and marks that I will use in my mixed media prints.

line drawing monotype print by linda germain

If you are interested in:

  • exploring expressive drawing
  • making trace monoprints

Join us in SEE draw print, the online class. Class starts Friday. READ the details.

 

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