Different colourways

To get the most use out of my large 1metre squared screen I have used it various times to explore different colour-ways as well as how many layers are most successful. I had 6 layers created which I made by colour reducing my drawings onto photoshop into 6 layers maximum, trying to merge together similar colour tones onto the same screen.

I wanted to try the screen with printing discharge onto dyed silk for a clean looking white print contrasting against the dyed navy. However, when I printed this on and the discharge was still wet, I noticed I really like the dark on dark colour tones so I printed a dark navy/black on top of the discharge. This does look more of a winter colour palette though, so for now I will remain focused onto bright colours for Spring/Summer. Plus, when the print was steamed I was really satisfied with the contrasting white and had comments from peers that it appears sophisticated. I also believe my samples have now developed into more professional looking prints and are more scarf-like. I now need to compose various screens which explore different scales.

screen printing bird print

After screen printing a blue tonal 5 layer print onto cotton with a bright scarlet background, I chose to use completely tonal blues for the motif's layers onto silk with a bright orange background to make the scarf pop. I am really happy with the vividness of colour on the silk twill and also believe my drawings are clear, crisp and textural. I will next continue to develop up to four more colourways with this screen before moving on and creating new screens.

screen printing a 1metre square scarf

I firstly split my large screen into quarter sections to sample my dyes on four colourways.

I especially like the tonal qualities where I have simply used shades of deep blue to enhance the tones of my design. However, some of my peers noticed the samples with bright orange and yellow colours first and gave the "wow factor". I have learnt I need to think about my target audience because so far I have been designing by reflecting on what I like, yet many people at the mid-term exhibition commented that their favourites of my digital scarves were different to my personal favourites. I therefore need to consider a variety of prints for my degree show.

I am satisfied with how a background layer cleanly applies a solid colour evenly around the motifs for a more interesting and exciting print. I will need to ensure, however that my print is thoroughly washed so no colour bleeds into the the white areas.

drawing eggs, watercolour textures

To add textures and pattern to my prints I have begun to create the patterns from egg shells using watercolours. I love to use Daler Rowney watercolours because they have a lovely soft texture which allows them to blend easily. I will soon repeat these marks onto drafting film, which will then be made into a screen to  screen print with.

mid term exhibition

The mid-term exhibition was a success. Many people commented positively on the display of my scarves, stating it was a unique idea to hang them from branches, which also gave a quirky and cute style which links to the appearances of my scarves.

I believe that my scarves display my drawings well and the colours are bright and appealing. However, I would like to now continue with screen printing processes more as well as continue drawing to achieve a variety of print skills which I can display in my portfolio.

more screen printing

I have continued to screen print throughout this week with the plan to add to a body of print samples which help me gain an understanding of layering my screens onto dyed silk. I am satisfied with the development of my prints. Even looking back at my work from the beginning of unit BA4, my prints have become cleaner, more detailed and pay more attention to the clarity and precision of print, ensuring to keep to a sophisticated colour palette. Throughout the units I have become very enthusiastic to work with silk, because I enjoy the feel and luxurious quality as well as how successfully the material takes colour. Therefore, I am currently enjoying designing specifically for silk and other fabric scarves as well as the process of dying and printing onto silk. I will next continue with my prints, now creating 1 metre squared scarves and trying compositions onto a more rectangular shape.

screen printing

I love the process of screen print, how you can quickly create flat, clean shapes of colour and layer them up for different tones and interesting effects. These images show how I am thinking about composition on my scarves and how I could possibly create an exciting repeat print. I wanted to add more colour to the background of these prints, however when printing onto the dyed red and orange silk, the colours appear very dark, even though the discharge works extremely well on these bright dyed fabrics. I cut out a template of my blue tit print and printed a block colour as a background. this left a thin white line around the birds which I believe made them more outstanding and gives an edgy hand-printed look. I will continue to print block colours around my bird prints rather than dying the fabric darker colours, unless I am discharging bird silhouettes onto the fabric first, to then print back onto.