Last but not least Discharge paste.

I'm sure many of you have either heard of discharge paste or used it. I know it was featured on this blog before but I think it has been a while. Well, on this last post of the year I thought I would get a bit smarty pants and combine two techniques in one. This fabric has color magnet and discharge paste on it. First I dyed the fabric on which I had screened Color Magnet then put it in a baggy with dye and soda ash.

When after washing, drying and ironing, I turned the fabric face down on my ironing board table and screened on discharge paste . Now that fabric didn't know whether the color was coming or going (bad art humor)

I used this circle screen with a credit card to apply the discharge paste.

Wet

Ironing to remove color

Now look at the other side with color magnet feathers and discharged circles coming through the back. VERY nice!!

I hope you saw a few techniques to whet your whistle. We have a long winter to get through so try some of these techniques. Happy New Year to you all.

Color Maget

Color magnet is a gel that can be applied to fabric with a silk screen or thermonfax.  The area with the Color Magnet on it will attract more dye, hence the magnet.

I started with a small piece of white fabric and screened on the "Color Magnet" with a thermofax screen. 

Below it is dry and ready to dye.

A dish with relatively weak dye in it along with soda ash solution.

After a few hours in the dye solution, washed and dried.

Bad photos from my smart phone showing the amazing detail in the shaft of the feather

Fugitive Media

Fugitive media is any media that is not permanent - will run as in fugitive (smile). Some examples are colored pencil, chalk, charcoal and water soluble crayons. 
The example below is a crow done in charcoal, colored pencils and chalk. The rocks and twig are thread sketched but the rocks are colored with pencil as well.

 For this post I decided to use water soluble crayons or pastels.

I started with these "color blocks" on the bottom of the silk screen. 

The marks seemed tentative so I placed the silk screen on a sheet of waxed paper and drew on the inside of the screen. I could press harder and I got more color on my screen.

I laid the finished screen on the fabric and wet it with a solution that would make the colors permanent. It is called Base Extender from ProChemical and Dye and it is in essence fabric paint with no color. It turns clear. When applied it covers the fugitive media in a coat of clear acrylic fabric paint making it permanent AFTER heat setting the dry fabric. It MUST be washed out of the screen immediately so the screen isn't ruined

First and second print. 

Thermofax Screens

Technically these are also silk screens. They are made of a plastic mesh type product and the image is burned into the screen causing a void. The part that appears black is the area on the screen burned out.

I had these screens made. I drew on paper the design I wanted on these three, with a pen, and sent them to Lyric Kinard for processing. 

During all of these silk screening post, I have used thickened dyes. This time I used fabric paint. Fabric paint has to dry 3 weeks or be heat set before it is permanent.

I "attempted to heat set the paints but my printing table can be damaged by heat so I was a bit tentative. The results show it too.

After "alleged" heat setting, I used thickened dyes with a credit card.

The pieces drying on the rail.

Glue Resist

I really like glue resist. One of my favorite designs is one I call mussel shells. I can't find a photo of it silk screened although I have done it numerous times but this is the gist of it.

 

 For this post I decided to use a spiral pattern. 

Here is the screen with the Elmer's Washable School Glue on the screen. I never had a problem getting the glue out of the screen before but during the Maine Event I had to cut out the screen and replace it. Not a big deal but it was odd. I think it was because I left it on over a week. This screened cleaned up pretty easily.

Here is the screen and glue. I think the blue glue might be easier to remove.

First pull in blue

Second pull in Chartreuse after flipping the screen upside down (180)

Washed, dried and ironed.

P.S. Today is my birthday!

Oh No!! Not deconstructed silk screening again!!!

Yes it's true. I am going to do a quick and dirty post on deconstructed screens. It you want a REALLY in-depth tutorial try this one.

On the printing table, I laid out crumpled waxed paper, a real favorite of mine along with some bubble wrap. I wasn't all that creative. I was trying for simplicity

I apllied some turquoise and purple thickened dye to the screen and drew it across to pick up the textures of the materials below. Remember never to put soda ash into this thickened dye in this step.

Here it is being held up to the light in the window. You can see the great texture in the dye.

The next day (or whenever the thickened dye on the screen is DRY), you place the screen on your pre-soda soaked fabric. Apply some print paste which is actually thickened dye without the dye OR thickened water. Get it? It's just clear thick wet. It wets the dried dye and pushes it through the screen to the fabric below.

Here I am after the first four pulls

I went over the four areas turning the screen every pull so new areas were exposed. On the last pull I added chartreuse dye to the prints.

Close-ups of the first through fourth sections.

I love deconstructed screen prints. There is no other way to achieve that surface design.