The next screen printing project was right up my alley. The theme for this project was experimentation. It is always so invigorating but frustrating to the creative process when you are experimenting with techniques and materials. The project required using screen filler and/or drawing fluid to create a print. Paper or acetate stencils could also be used to create the print.I decided to work very loose on this project. I had one jellyfish stencil and a schematic idea of what I wanted to do with this piece. The idea was for it to have a fluid feel but also experiment with ink transparencies and screen filler washes.
The first printed color was the magenta. For the magenta ink mixture, I used about 60/35/5
mix of transparent base, magenta ink, and blue ink. The ink mixture was also thinned with a small amount of water for a more fluid mixture. The jelly fish stencil was made with acetate and the right and left edging were done with paper stencils. A screen filler wash was also applied to the screen, the plan was to get some gradients of the magenta throughout the print. The lower right jelly fish stencil and the vertical edging stencil were the placed for the magenta ink run.
The second printed color was the yellow. The ink mixture was about a 60/40 mix of transparent base and yellow ink and then thinned with a small portion of water. The jellyfish stencil was moved to the second position to block out the yellow and maintain some of the magenta.
The third color was a ultra-transparent blue. The screen was prepared with a very loose screen filler wash. The wash was made with a 1:1 ratio of screen filler and water. The filler was appliced with a medium brush. The stencil was then moved into the third position for the ink run. After running the blue ink, the piece became much darker than what was originally intended. The magenta should not have been mixed with blue. Even though the ratio of blue was small, it was effecting the subsequent colors.
I towed with some different ideas on how to get the light and darks to balance. I finally decide to add the final jellyfish in a lighter yellow. For the final stencil, in need a negative stencil to complete the jellyfish. I decided to use drawing fluid with screen filler for the stencil. The drawing fluid was applied to the screen. The screen filler was then applied over the drawing fluid and the drawing fluid was then removed to create the positive shape. I did learn a very valuable lession here. The previous time of using screen filler I had applied thin and the screen filler had blown out of the screen. I attempted to thinly apply the screen filler with a brush but it was still too thick and dissolved the drawing fluid. I had to start all over. To use the drawing fluid and screen filler technique. You definitley need to apply the screen filler very thin with a squeegee.
The piece still felt unfinished. It needed something to pull the whole thing together. I tossed around a few different elements that I could add to complete the print. I felt like it needed some contracting color and some kind of grapic element. I ultimately decided to add some tendrils from the jellyfish in a contrasting color.
The same drawing fluid and screen filler technique were used to create the stencil for the tendrils. The final run was a turquoise and white ink. Overall I was happy with
the finished product.
I really liked working loose with this project and just reacting at each stage of this process. I would definitely try this process again and agian.
Daylene Horn Art 