inspiration monday

this past weekend i did something that i've wanted to do for a really long time.....
i took a screenprinting workshop!  and boy, did i ever luck out, because instead of having only one instructor, this class was taught by silkscreening dynamic duo dana fehsenfeld and kreh mellick at barbara zaretsky's fabulous cloth-fiber workshop studio!
we got things started by looking for some design inspiration (i chose these little tick-marks from my journal).....

and then we used waterproof markers and drew onto a large piece of acetate.

there are lots of different ways the screen design can be set up.....
i decided to draw two different designs,  which gives me the option of taping off one side and printing one design at a time if i want (kind of like having two different screens, but it's all on one).

then the design was burned into the screen.....
dana had already prepared our screen with the pink photo emulsion, and then we placed it with our design acetate on top onto a UV screen exposure light box.  after only a couple of minutes, we quickly washed out our screen and watched our design come to life!
then we let the screen dry outside.

then came the fun part.....the printing!
i decided to print the leaf design, so i taped off the other side.  then a nice dollop of blue paint went at the top, and i squeegueed it down through the screen onto my white fabric.....

and presto,  lots and lots of blue leaves all in a row!

then it was time to hang it on the line outside.....

and while one fabric was drying, i printed some more!
this time, blue tick marks onto khaki fabric.....

and white onto denim!

before i knew it, i had a nice little stash of screenprinted fabrics started.....
and i can't wait to add some more!

many thanks and big hugs to dana, kreh, and barbara for a truly fabulous weekend!
i loved every minute of it!!

{click here to see more about the screenprinting process!}