Final Pieces

Today I am writing to tell you about my final pieces. Before I started making my final pieces I had a design meeting with my class members to determine which two samples to produce into a 3 meter length of material. They chose a traditional material that had a grey and gold print on top of silk and they chose a modern material that had a gold and pink print on top of calico dyed black.

The first final piece I did was my modern material as I knew I had to allow for drying time. I bought 3 meters of calico and used Black k2647 procion dye to dye both sides of the material with a paint brush. It took approximately 20 minutes to do both sides. My tutor also helped me do this.

I then left it over night so that the room temperature would lock the dye into the material. Then the next day my tutor put it in the washing machine to get the excess dye from it, and left it on the table to dry overnight. 

The next day I could start printing but first I ironed the material so that it wasn't crinkled. I then taped the material flat to the table with masking tape. As seen below:

Dyed calico 

Dyed calico

I had my first screen to print then and I printed with Gold Luster permaset ink across the registration bar. I had a problem when it came to printing between two parts that were already printed. The problem was that when I came to lift the screen up the screen lifted some of the ink off of the already printed parts leaving a mark along the material where the ink is lighter.

First screen

First screen 2

First screen 3

I then went on to print my second screen and this one worked really well and covered up the lines a little. I also forgot to tape the sides up on this screen so there were marks around the edges of my material but I cut those off after it was dry.

Full Print 1

Full print 2

Full print 3

 Full print 4

Final piece 1

My second final piece I was able to start printing straight away. I first taped some lining onto the table and then my 3 meter length of silk light on top of that so the print wouldn't go through and stain the table. 

I then printed my first screen with Black BM pigment ink. It went well but it took a while to dry afterwards so I had to wait to print my next screen.

First screen

First screen 2

After waiting for the first print to dry I then printed my second screen with Gold Luster permaset ink on top of the first print.

Full print 1

Full print 2

Full print 3

Full print 4

Full print 5

Finally I pulled the silk off of the lining and the lining off of the table. There was some of the print left on the table and I thought it looked quite nice so I took a few pictures of it.

 

Print on table 1

Print on table 2

I am very proud of both my final pieces, they are two of my best pieces of work that I have produced throughout my time at college. I love the combination of colours in both pieces and I think both are what I envisioned at the start of my project. I am thankful to my tutors that have helped me throughout this project as I have needed guidance especially as it came to producing these final pieces.

My Final Pieces 1

My Final Pieces 2

I very much enjoyed been in the print room producing all this work as it is where I am most creative. I will miss this when I leave college but will enjoy my new artistic adventures. Thank you for reading x

Lining up screens

For my final pieces I had to set my two screens up on the registration bar so that my screen would line up and repeat easily. It was very annoying to do because you have to keep checking that the screen lines up and if it doesn't you have to move the bolts that keep your screen in that position.

When lining the screen up you rub talcum powder through the screen onto a black surface so you can see the design. It saves you from having to keep washing your screen and wasting ink. 

The short clip below shows this.

It takes a while to do and can get frustrating but it is worth it to make the printing process quicker. I learnt that you can never get the design to fit perfectly together but you can get it to fit as close as possible. 

Draping Material 2

When I bought my meter lengths of material for my samples, I thought that before I cut them up into smaller pieces I could play around with them on a manikin  to see what my final pieces could be displayed like in my exhibition.  I used pieces of silk, chiffon and cotton as there more flowing and lightweight. 

I particularly like how the silk drapes on the manikin and I will definitely use this for one final piece. 

Below are images of me draping material on a manikin: