Silkscreening Miu~

I had been waiting for this workshop for a month, and when 29th September finally came, the Saturday morning seemed especially cheery. It had not been easy looking for silkscreen classes where I reside, and when I finally found one I could attend, I jumped with a big HOORAY!!!.

Though a short session (yup it's 3 hours, I'd hope it's a full day workshop so I can keep printing), I learnt 2 basic techniques with loads of hands-on:- Mono Screenprinting and using Reduction Screen Filler Stencils. For those completely new to the concept of screenprinting (yup, I was totally new a month ago as well, and watching how-to videos on youtube helps), you might want to take a quick look at screenprinting on Wikipedia before you read on.


For Mono Screenprinting, screen mono prints are using water-soluble crayons, pencils and fabric dyes drawn or painted directly onto the mesh of the screen. Once your image is completed on screen, a transparent base is used as a vehicle to transfer it onto the paper. The image can be used once or up to a few times, before the image fades out.

For the latter, a screen filler is used to create or edit images by closing areas of mesh, preventing them from printing. Each time you squeegee, you print 1 colour. If you have 3 colours on your image, you print thrice. Quite a lot of work actually, but loads of fun. Below is a simple diagram showing the filter meshes and the resulting print.





The floral image (with green background) is printed twice, once with green, and the second time with brown.

It was a great workshop at Tyler Print Institute of Singapore. Another part-time course I found was hosted at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, it spanned 10 evenings over 10 weeks in August/Sept, and focused on printing on fabrics (which I love). I am not sure if courses like these would recur. If you know of any other silkscreen printing classes coming up, please do drop me a note!

Miu~

I got fixated on Japanese fabrics since a month ago, and I can't seem to resist them. I haven't got a sewing machine (sigh.. no oven, no sewing machine, something in life is just missing). I tend to consider for the longest time when I shop for "equipment" of any sort. I go crazy looking at specifications, learning about functions & features. I dwell on every single detail and consider and reconsider every need and future need. Ha! By the time I finish the research, the model is outdated, and no longer sold. "L" for loserrrrrr. While I am not too quick on buying the BIG things, I jump and almost pounce on all the small little indulgences. Weaving seamlessly between shelves of ribbons, bales of printed cottons & linens, I am quick (and almost too eager) to part with some cash.




Okie, back to Miu~, this card features a contented cat sitting on an armchair. I wanted to find a way to start using all the ribbons, paper and fabric I have. I find it therapeutic to draw wallpaper and furniture. Voila... I showed it to Sha when we met up last week. She said she would open up her bookstore when I make 1000 of these, 20 (or is it 50?) designs. She would sell them in her shop. Well, I don't think I'll reach 100 anytime soon, because it's horribly tedious to ink & cut & paste, but this somewhat informal remark is giving me an awful amount of interest in making them, because I *REALLY* wish for the day Sha has her dream book store! I know she would find so much fulfillment in running it (and reading everything on the shelf!).

1000... okie, 1 at a time.

Well, she didn't say no printing.

Hur Hur Hur...

Falling in love with Cranes & Sakuras

This fabric didn't quite catch my attention on first sight, but I have grown to like it so much it's therapeutic to look at. If you have a queer shopping habit of scrutinizing almost fabric in the store, and looking at the shortlisted ones 10 times before considering thrice and finally deciding to buy the same pattern in multiple colours (I only needed 1 though.. hmmm), you would probably know how I feel. "Precious find...oooo.. ahhh....might as well get the purple, and the brown.. and the..."




I don't know if this would fall under "excessive shopping", but it's certainly turning me into a collector of various kinds of art supplies, most of which I use, but some of which I can only bear to admire with growing appreciation.



I should really get kicking to get started on learning about screen printing my own fabrics. After rolling more truffles *promise* :)

These fabrics are available in my little Etsy store.