http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/portland-blog-03-10-2012.html
IN PHOTOS:
not even sure where to begin, so much time has gone by and so much has happened. i thought of going way back and catching up yet too much time has passed and it's old news already, etc.
this morning i received two emails that the photo above was the 'featured photo' for portlandneighborhood.com as well as 'featured album' for this photo series. that makes me happy. thanks again portlandneighborhood.com. it's making taking photos in a new city all the more rewarding.
portland saturday market is such a treat. even though i visited it almost 10 years ago, it has a different meaning to me since i know live in the same city and can visit it every weekend if i wanted to. the idea for me this year was to visit it first thing out of the gate for the season so that i could visit it as winter is exiting and spring and summer is entering. i will then go back during full on spring/summer/fall and photograph it again to see the progression from these photos. think time lapse if you will. i've always been fascinated by the weather, the seasons and like to see the difference in photographs during those times.
ADVANCDED SCREEN PRINTING:
i finally finished my advanced screen printing class at
the make house. i had to go back for round 2 because of a few snafus. and let me tell you, having made a few snafus REALLY does make a difference in the learning process. mistakes are simply opportunities and you have to hold onto them and make them worthwhile when they do occur. so happy that i'm finally learning this as i've always been so set on getting it right the first time. i'm very lucky to be surrounded by amazing people that really help in those situations.
advanced screen printing NIGHT ONE:
you'll notice that these are all photos of the other student in my class, also named 'RACHEL' because i didn't really get to print the first night. the advanced class is ONLY two students plus nathan our instructor. the class size is TWO because it is so in-depth in teaching advanced screen printing. additionally we were doing more than one color. rachel did four, i did three. which of course translates to more screens to make and use.
the only picture i DID take for mine was this one. two of my three screens as i was about to burn the image on the screen. with that in mind, when doing 3 colors you also add 'registration marks' so that you are able to line up each screen during each color. almost like the measure twice cut once concept.
and let me tell you, i have a whole new respect for registration marks. this process alone can take a LOT of time to get it just right when doing more than one color. it's a little bit of knocking it in place here and knocking it in place there. for a 'getting it right' person like me, this can take a LONG time. i'm learning more patience this way too. WHEW.
that said, my first snafu came when we misaligned ONE of my screens and the registration marks were 2 1/4 inches off. nathan simply says, time to learn how to 'reclaim' your screen now. see where i'm going with this, mistakes translate to 'opportunities', just roll with me on this one. i REALLY was learning more than advanced screen printing. life lessons were also coming into play. sure i already knew how to load a screen with emulsion from my 'basics' class back in december. but NOW i was learning how to get the emulsion off of a screen to reclaim it and reshoot it, etc. YAY ME!!
that said, nathan simply said, you're on your own, you know how to reshoot the screen, heat it, wash it down, etc....get to it! the process takes about 40-45 minutes. 9 minutes to reshoot the screen on the light table, 30 minutes to dry and a few minutes to wash the screen for the image to show. nathan was upstairs helping the other rachel all this time. granted, i REALLY did appreciate doing this on.my.own hence the next lesson....as she hangs her head in shame. i failed to make sure that the image was heading the right direction, the reverse of what you are printing.....OOPS. i came back up the stairs super proud that i had just completed the entire process and was ready to load the screens in the mounts, etc when we set the revised screen down on the platen and BAM, it was BACKWARDS. i simply stepped away from the platen, turned around and shouted a series of......OKAY, we will just let your mind wonder what words i was shouting OUT LOUD.....nathan followed suit and did the same. he's a great team player that way. not making you feel the fool and shouting with you, etc. i felt defeated (if only for a FEW seconds) yet i also felt like i had learned the next lesson. YAY ME!! see how that works. mistakes become opportunities. the 'other' rachel was happily washing the paint off her screens in the other room and had no idea what was going on just that nathan and i had been SHOUTING in the other room. haha.
we threw in the towels/screens and called it a night.
two days ago i went back for a private round 2 one-on-one with nathan and made magic. it was awesome. nathan, nice guy that he is, reshot my screen for me and we just got to printing. having a one on one allows for more printing time too. lucky me. i brought in vintage sheet music (that i will use for mixed media canvasses), large kraft envelopes, a hoodie and even some canvas fabric to print on that i will make market totes, zippered pouches, etc out of.
ROUND 2 advanced screen printing:
my THREE screens loaded and ready to go.
flooding the screen. the screen must always stay flooded in between each color so that the paint doesn't dry up and so that the paint is ready to go. this too is also a technique that must be mastered. that's my hoodie on the platen there.
this was a test image on regular paper to see all the colors printed. you'll notice that i simply used the last sketch i did from my 1st class (also my blog logo) and with the help of my sweet peep
wendy, added the umbrella in the background. it's simply in honor to say that i've left my umbrella behind. i am told that umbrellas are for TOURISTS here. point duly noted.
here is my image on envelopes and canvas fabric during drying time. i will be adding stamped text just below the line far left under the rain boots.
my image drying on sheet music and my hoodie.
and a very cool image looking up into the screen. here you can see all 3 colors starting to build on the screen as you print more items as well as the tape that is used to cover up the registration marks and random pinholes so that the paint does not get pressed out onto what you're printing on. WHEW.
why YES, i will be adding screen printing to my resume. HA.
IN OTHER NEWS:
finally, i leave you with an image from sunset magazine. my sweet friend kate of sew po, also one of my 'friday features' made it into sunset, a HUGE honor to make it into this magazine. kate is also the person teaching me how to quilt, i'm SEW happy that she came into my life when she did. cheers to you kate!
thanks for letting me share and somewhat catch you up on things as i know some of you follow to make sure that i am doing well. that means a lot to me so thank you. one.day.at.a.time.
happy friday, happy weekend.
cheers,
rachel
