Screen Printing Workshops

I'm getting back into the swing of workshops. Excited to be sharing my screen printing skills and tricks. I haven't done any workshops all year, so it's great I've finally found a space to have some fun and teach some fun techniques. 

I recently made a little trip up to a sweet fabric shop at Palm Beach, Qld (sorry, not the Sydney, NSW Palm Beach, as I mistakenly lead a few astray on Instagram!). It's called I Just Love that Fabric, which is exactly what Susie the owner does - loves fabric. Boy it was lovely walking into a fabric shop that "gets" beautiful real fabric. Someone who knows all the designers and their seasons, a place to see and feel hand printed fabrics - a place that supports Australian designed and made fabrics. Oh yes, such a place does exist. It seems that fabric shops are becoming few and far between, what with online buying so easy. But nothing can beat chatting with a real person who loves fabric as much as you do, laying out the roll of fabric along the beautiful wooden cutting table and talking about projects and possible uses. And just oohing and aahhing about fabric in general. 

Susie and I hatched the idea of me running some screen printing workshops in her lovely shop. I met Susie when she came to one of my workshops that I ran at Hey Maker last year, and it was so good to chat with someone who knew fabric, and loved it so much. How exciting to be doing some workshops within the walls surrounded by all the goodness of that fabric. 

So, for all those people who have been asking me when I'm going to do some more screen printing workshops. Here you go! We have three dates scheduled. Each class will be small, with only 6 bookings maximum, which means more time for printing and asking questions and actually learning a new skill. My aim is for you to be able to continue printing at home, making gifts for family and friends, or zhoosing up your home or kids' wardrobe. Let me tell you, seeing your design on fabric is such a great feeling. A Jumping up and down with excitement feeling! Watch this lovely video which gives you a small feeling of a printing day with me.

The workshop is $125 - dates are Sunday 8th Sept 9am-1pm, Sunday 27th Oct 9am-1pm and Sunday 24th Nov 9am-1pm. 

You can make bookings through my online shop, or contact Susie - details on her website.

the blues, leafwork & a giveaway

Yesterday I mixed up a most delicious blue ink for some screen printing. Oh I do so love it. It dried just perfectly perfect. Don't you like it when things go just right like that.
I'm still deciding on a name for the colour - naming colours can be fun, but hard. I don't want to be all silly and 'arty', but fun and descriptive. Some paint names I see, on paint chips, are so silly don't you think! Tell me the best you've ever heard.

Some experimenting with the designs at the moment. Printing on the kitchen table, using an old sheet/blanket that I mum made for me an eon ago. I like using it, and remembering that she sewed it for me to take on my overseas journey. Now I use it for a new journey - and I'm adding good ink splotches to it too.

I thought I had a free week this week to do some fun exploring and work with fabric and ink and such, but suddenly, just today, it got busy. I'll try to slip in a spot of printing again - but not sure. I also have a sewing project that a friend asked me to do, that I need need need to get done.

Anyway - here's what came out from the screen yesterday. Some of it anyway. Some bits were mistakes, and they're the best bits. But I haven't photographed them yet. I'm trying to decide what to make with these pieces, they are smallish test bits, but I think I'll make some more of similar design in bigger sizes.
The best bit that came out of the screen yesterday was the doing of it - I haven't done any printing for a few months again now. So getting back into it was good good good.

I've decided to give away one of these pieces. It's about A4 size or so, maybe a bit bigger (it's not beside me right now, I'm at the town library - so I can't measure it). Tell me - what would you make with this piece of delicious organic cotton / hemp hand screenprinted goodness. Leave a comment to enter to win a piece. I'll draw sometime next week, maybe Monday morning.

{this is called 'lacework/leafwork', and I'm thinking of calling the ink colour smoked teal - you can't really tell in these images, but it's a deep blue almost like a cyanotype}.

last minute

i really am a last minute kinda girl. it's not so much what i keep wanting, life just keeps making it happen / i keep making it happen.

anyway, my market is tomorrow. we haven't done a market stall for a year now (due to living here, with no facilities for proper making). i'm so glad we're doing this one - but also starting to wonder why i pushed myself into it when there was/is so much other stuff happening.

signs kept telling me that i shouldnt be doing it. but it was too late by then. when i went to screen print my tea towels on wednesday afternoon, i could hold the big big screen on my own properly so didn't get a good print. i washed up and went to help Sam do the concreting!
yesterday when i was sewing (my machine finally back from being serviced), the needle broke, the thread snapped at least three times, the bobbin kept running out at the wrong time, the zips wouldn't sew, i was doing lots of unpicking.
the wind outside picked up, the rain came down. i breathed and breathed. my dad came home and said keep going, don't stop, do more, sew more. so i did - even though my tummy was grumbling and all signs were saying to stop.

more work to do today, market tomorrow. my sister is coming over to help me label and price and make some of our mirrors + badges. we'll also get a much needed chance to chat with no kids. yah to that! i'll stress and rush and stay up late, and then be all shiny and excited at the market tomorrow. doesn't matter does it - the lead up to the market. it all starts again on the morning doesn't it. like the opening of a show. once the curtains are up, all mistakes and forgotten lines don't matter. you smile and chat and have fun (and hopefully take home a lighter car load). and then get to sleep in the next morning.

just had to put this cherry photo in. makes me happy to look at it. aside from being addicted to instagram, it has actually been a good tool for me doing little styled shots of different things. doing it regularly (which i don't get to do with the big camera) is something that makes it keep happen. it's a good thing to keep practicing.

{these are some photos that Ari took, on my phone, while we were all posing for a photo shoot for the local newspaper. i quite like his little viewpoints - there were a few not so nice ones..... we made the front page of the newspaper - that's pretty cool, hey! this is in Helle's super cute and creative studio space, that's her on the very left with the spotty cup. also at the shoot were Lyn (the President of the Friends of the Gallery), Judy and Nikki (out of shot). i love the shot of Helle looking out the window}.

how much effort to wash a spoon?

I love this! I want to put it on a tea towel.
Found on Judy's blog Lithospherial. From here (pity it's now sold out). Check out his blog Maxistentialism - which is wonderful, witty, wordy, intelligent and fun.

le tour Eiffel, cupcakes, coffee pots, trees & flowers

I had another lovely group of screen printing ladies last weekend, at my little studio. Everyone arrived early, and got stuck straight into some design thinking, and a bit of chatting too!

Despite the heat of the day, we got a lot done and finished up on time.

Deb (above left), who had recently returned from Paris, hand drew this fantastic stylised Le Tour Eiffel. I love that she also hand cut her initials into the stencil. A true artist! These printed up beautifully, and will make excellent gifts, and a great keepsake memory of her time in France. Deb also cut out this wonderful, and quite intricate, little moose head with antlers and a heart face (top photo).

Eryn (above right, in the black) came to the class with a few rough ideas for a design, and started sketching different ideas. She came up with this lovely swirl shape, which she rotated to make three different angles, hand cut them all and then printed them up in deep grey onto the black linen tea towels. (The lighting in the photo is not doing justice to the great print or colours). Eryn also had time to cut out some more from her sketching ideas, and came up with this lovely little cupcake, tea cut and pot design. It looked so cute in bright pink. Both of these designs are a perfect example of how a simple, crisp and bold design is just suited for stencil cut screen printing, and gives wonderful results.

Georgina (second-to-top photo, wearing the pink) arrived with a geranium leaf and some photocopied leaf-image inspiration, and starting drawing and cutting her shapes. Her persistance with cutting the intricate little shapes really paid off with this stunning pair of green geranium and fantastic orange flower prints. She did these are two different cut stencils; waiting for the green to dry before printing the orange flowers. Can't wait to see what Georgina stitches this up into.

Sue brought along a beautiful tote bag she had made (which I forgot to photograph, but it was so sweet), of a tree with bright red apple buttons. She cut and printed this as two stencils, first the chocolate brown trunk and then the bright green leaves over the top. We planned it that when she printed the top design, there would be some overlap of colours, and some sections where it wouldn't overlap leaving a little bit of fabric showing. When you're lining up designs by hand, and have to move the fabric between prints, it's best to work with that and plan for the beautiful little imperfections that happen. I think it really added to the print, having them all be placed just a teeny bit differently to each other. Once these t-shirts have their red apple buttons stitched on, they are going to look super-duper cute on Sue's neices. Yah.

Jacki (who writes the lovely monkeemoomoo blog) had her husband size these images up to perfectly fit a tea towel. What a wonderfully cute idea (the coffee pots and spoons, rather than using her husband to do the design work - though I must admit, I do that with my husband too!). This turned out so well, the pots, spoon and mixing machine looked excellent in a deep grey print on white + black linen. What lucky family and friends, who'll be getting this for their presents. Jacki also cut this simple, retro looking design and printed it in red (this image is the one I printed on our backing fabric, with an orange mixed through). Jacki told us her son had them all drawing and cutting designs, which is what lead to her pebble shapes with negative and positive cut-outs. Take it from me - young kids are some of the best art instructors and inspiration around, use them if you have them!

I had such a lovely time watching everyone come up with their designs, and learning the techniques of printing. Some of them were a bit nervous for the first print run, but had totally slipped into the fun of it by the time they got their second printing done. I do hope they're all inspired to go off and keep printing at home. Sorry Sue + Jacki, somehow I didn't end up with a photo of either of you.

If you are interested in learning how to screen print, then I have a few spots left in the last classes of the year. You can bring your own fabric to print on (like Sue's t-shirts for presents), or print onto tea towels - which make excellent gifts for local and overseas friends and family. Full details are here, with info on how to book. I've decided to cancel one class due to the year running away from me too much, so only have two more classes left.

Printing weekend - oh.what.fun

I had my first printing workshops this weekend. And had such fun, I do really hope you all had fun too. It's so lovely to see the amazing different and individual designs that people come up with. And how different colours make such a difference to the overall look. These are some images from Saturday's workshop. I totally forgot to take any on Sunday, for the Brown Owls printing day.

above image :: many hands helping. Was so great to see how everyone jumped in and helped each other out with the mechanics of learning to screen print. Things that I have learnt to do over the years (hold the screen and the squeedgie and not get blobs ink on the fabric all at once), was like a little operating theatre - with tools being past and held as needed.
below :: Bree's perfectly cut little pots. The colour looks black here, but is was actually a deep redish  / maroon / chocolate colour. She repeated the pots at the opposite end of the tea towel. She also printed some of our berry hemp with deep grey pots, which she plans on sewing into placemats. Bree's design came from an all-time favourite Lotta Prints.

above :: left - Michelle's beautifully cut tree design. right - Michelle + Estelle, cutting their intricate designs. Michelle's was a round branchy tree, and Estelle's was a mangrove (below left). Both of them came with ideas, which we talked about and decided to make them opposite of the original design. The negative background was cut out to form the design, rather than the actual tree shape itself. They both turned out as beautiful pieces of artwork, esp the grey ink on black linen tea towels.

below :: right - Doreen's sweet little houses. Crisp blue on white and black tea towels - was amazing to see the difference the same ink looks on different fabrics. I can't wait to see the details Doreen's going to add to these houses - a talented quilter, she has a big list of gifts to make before she can start on the sashiko flowers and clouds she was planning on adding to her houses.

above :: Geraldine's leafy-vine shapes, printed in a eucalyptus green / grey colour, which looked super lovely on the black linen. Our little visiting friend thought it melded into the backyard just perfectly, and came for a bit of a look around and laugh. This design had a second print run, to put a third leaf in the middle.
below :: Geraldine and Christine printing the most amazing aqua colour, onto our berry hemp. Christine's hand cut seed pod design looked excellent as a repeat pattern along the width of fabric. Unfortunately, I didn't get any more than this photo of it. Can't wait to hear what you make with it Christine!

above:: Michelle's tree design, which also looks like a leaf with veins. Deep grey on white and black linen.

And all the lovely, friendly ladies enjoying their finished pieces (and hair drying them so they wouldn't smudge on the car trip home). From l - r :: Christine, Geraldine, Doreen, Bree, Michelle & Estelle. (sorry the photo quality isn't too good....).

I love this photo, that Bree took, of the screens drying in the sun. These prove that simple, bold, graphic designs make for fantastic results. Sometimes it's the littlest and simplest shapes that really do make the best impression. I'm always so inspired by how everyone's designs are so totally different, the colour combinations they choose, and the planning of what they'll make it into, or how they're going to keep printing at home. Yah!

If you're interested in learning how to screen print - Come along to one of our fun beginner's workshops at our little studio. You'll hand cut your own stencils, using your original designs (I'll be there to help with design inspiration!), and then print using a blank screen and toxic-free printing ink. All materials will be provided as well as ongoing help, and access to extra materials at wholesale prices. We'll be printing onto sustainable and organic fabrics. You're welcome to bring along your own materials for printing onto (t-shirts, pillow cases, baby onesies, etc).We'll talk about designs suitable for stencil cut printing, as well as exposed screens.

I'm opening bookings up for the following dates:

Saturday 27th Nov, Saturday 4th Dec & Sunday 5th Dec. Gather some friends and have a crafty day out together - a yummy lunch is included, and perhaps our little kookaburra friend will come along too. Bookings and further info here. Or email me {redseedstudio@gmail.com} with any questions.

printing blue ..... and still not sure of a name

Some screen printing today, in the printing shed. Skirts.  Like this one here. {thanks Kim, I actually really quite like this photo; not often that happens!!}

The backs of the skirts are beautiful soft black hemp + organic cotton. The fronts are a floaty white hemp + organic cotton - which I hand screen print. Each one is totally different, due to the way I print them. I couldn't even replicate any particular bits if I wanted. It's like a magic that evolves from the mix of ink on screen and pull of squeedgie.

Red / black or blue / black. Each had white relief marks on it; frayed, raw, edges, strands, string, twirls, swirls. And little bits of stories in the ink.

I love lifting the screen and looking at each bit. Picking out sections that I like best. Enjoying the mix and swirl and drifts of colour. Seeing the stark white underneath. The edge of the screen. The soft corners, where the ink didn't touch, or just softy whispered past.

Sylve helped me today. It was good to have someone else in the printing shed with me. Someone working out thoughts with. Talking with my sister is like thinking aloud, a ramble of conversation and ideas and advice and being able to say little bits that might not make sense until someone else turns a new light on them.

Mishi helped us too. Spooning the ink onto the screen. And washing the spoons afterwards. And getting so wonderfully grubby with blue.black water (and chocolate brownie combined with babycino at the cafe after).

I'm still trying to come up with the best name for these skirts. I have been calling them The Art Skirt, but not sure that's exactly right (except that doing each one is a one-by-one piece of art). 

I'll show you the finished skirts in a week or so. When they're back from the sewer, and I'm back from my holiday. {We leave for a week's holiday in Cairns on Tuesday. YAH}. And some of you will be able to see them in person at my upcoming big big big fun fun fun market (which I'm super anxious.scared.excited.anticipating.breathless.dreaming.planning about).