New Silk Screens

I've been making more silk screens this week...always fun! I needed some spooky looking trees for a piece I'm working on. I have a system...I make the screen on a Thermofax, tape off the edges with 2" wide duct tape which is cut in half, print the screen on a file folder and last (and a great design tool for me) is to screen the image onto clear plastic......the kind you get at Joann fabrics people used to cover tables. It's thick enough to have substance but also flexible. 

Both the screen and the plastic with image go in the folder. I also note on the screen "top" which tells me which side is the side to face out. Yes, there are two sides to the film used to make the screen...one is more fragile and should face the fabric. The other side has a slightly rougher texture and more durable to screen on top of.

I love the clear plastic with the image on top. You can do this with anything you want to print on top....a stencil, a stamp or just marks with a brush. The clear image allows you to see what's going on underneath and helps with the placement of the image before you actually apply the paint which in many cases is permanent very quickly. I love this design tool and probably use it more than anything else.

I had some tiger lilies and wanted to make an image of them....2 sizes and one with the lily in a bunch of lilies.

I like the one with the background of lilies better...more interesting and still having the one lily dominant.

And the other spooky tree... a little smaller and coming in from the left side...the other larger one came in from the right. You'll see what I mean when I post the quilt these are being used in.

Okay...so call me sentimental but this is a drawing my daughter did when she was 3 years old...I've always loved it and decided it needed to be a screen...I will use it as a background filler with a very subtle colored paint...I love it!

Til next time....