BLOCK PRINTING FABRIC

Block printing fabric made easy with simple blocks made from precut
adhesive craft foam and foam core board.

Hand printed fabric can be made in a number of ways.  Block printing fabric is a quick and simple way to get started.  Block printing fabric can be achieved by using either fabric dyes, fabric paints, or textile inks. The blocks themselves can be easily made from readily available materials.  A simply method is to purchase precut pieces of adhesive-backed craft foam and apply the patterns to foam core board.  After creating your block, be sure to coat both sides with several costs of matte media, otherwise the foam core board will take on moisture from the print media and quickly disintegrate.

Foam core printmaking blocks are good to use for small projects but they are not very durable.  If you are looking for a block printmaking process that is quick and do not want to built up an inventory of blocks, these are essentially "disposable."  I have used mine for up to one year and they printed about six yards of 60" wide fabric.

While they are quick to make, the main drawback is that they are not transparent.  In order to register the blocks you will have to use a T-bar or notch method.  My overall preference is to use transparent blocks.  In a later post I will show you some of these which are made from clear plexiglass.

HAND PRINTED FABRIC TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Hand printed cotton fabric by artist Cherie Porter Blackwell  features an
 infinitely repeating pattern of abstract landscape designs
originally hand drawn and then transfer to screen printing film.

Applying traditional printmaking methods to fabrics allows an almost unlimited potential for rethinking and repurposing materials for a variety of applications.  Creating a sufficient amount of hand printed fabric can be done easily with screen printing.  The key skills in this process is an understanding of pattern repeat design, color management, and careful fabric selection. 

Rethinking the screen printing frame is key to simplifying the process.  This method lies outside the normal view that is common with screen printers from the commercial t-shirt industry.  Gone are the need for minute calibrations on a roulette printing stand.  Thinking outside this box, the screen frame becomes a kind of monoprint/monotype matrix which can be hand-held or possibly used with a traditional serigraphy press.

What will separate the artist's unique expression on fabric from the more craft-oriented or commercial fabric approach will of course have a lot to do with vision and application.  We would expect to see image making that is deeper in its artistic statement, highly conceptual, and offering elements of surprise.  Another way to say this is that there is really a lot of printed fabric in the world.  How will you make your mark and hold a strong voice in a field that is still dominated by large scale commercial fabric companies?

Once you have settled on your visual statement, try making your first set of fabrics with simply materials such as hand-cut stencils and one-step textile screen printing inks.  Pull the screens with a medium squeegee on a cushioned printmaking table.  Then take a look at the amount of ink that has be laid down.  You want a smooth application without excess.  If too much is in laid down, either modify your pulling technique or starting thinking about going a harder squeegee or print surface.

LEARN PRINTMAKING ON FABRIC

Hand-dyes, monoprint on pima cotton,
Cherie Porter Blackwell 2010

UC Davis is proud to host a printmaking on textiles summer class in connection with the Homeless Homes and Blankets for the Homeless projects in Oakland, California.  Join artist/printmaker/social activist Cherie Porter Blackwell for an exciting adventure into printmaking on recycled/repurposed textiles as part of a larger collaborative fine arts and community activism project.  Students will produce hand-printed textiles joined into hand-stitched pieces to be used as blankets for the interiors for the highly publicized Homeless Homes Project.  Designs will also be printed, reworked, joined, sliced, reorganized and pushed through a wonderful process-oriented repopulation design process, then photographed as a unified design for printing on fleece blankets which the public can purchase as a fundraiser for the homeless project.

Printmaking techniques will include screen printing, relief printing, monoprint/monotype, resist, reduction, and various stencil processes using a variety of media including fabric dyes, fabric inks, paints, crayons, pastels, charcoal and graphite, as well as photographic processes directly on the fabric.

As a added bonus, students who complete the course will receive certification to work independently after class completion in the UC Davis textile and screen printing studios on an ongoing basis.

Skills Level Required:  This is a multi-level class accepting beginning through advanced level

Registration begins in May 2014 through the UC Davis Crafts Center

Class dates and times:  August 9 and 16, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Non-credit course but with amazing resume potential

 

UC DAVIS TO HOST HOMELESS BLANKETS PROJECT

 Here is an opportunity to combine your art making with social activism in an exciting exploration into printmaking on textiles. This summer project will offer training in a variety of fine arts printmaking processes specifically modified for the textile design process. Learn screen printing, relief printing, monoprint/monotype, and various textile dye processes. Learn to dye and apply fabric inks, crayons, pencils, chalks, and charcoals to a variety of recycled/repurposed fabrics. Working collaboratively, we will join together our unique fabric visions into warm and comfortable blankets for the Homeless Homes Project in the East Bay. Registration begins May 2014 through the UC Davis Crafts Center.

PRINTMAKING ON FABRIC AND PHOTOGRAVURE PROJECTS

"Tree Environment 1," Cherie Porter Blackwell,
monoprint, drypoint and digital,
commemorative print for Homeless Blankets Project

In the background, we are proceeding with the boxed set collection of photogravure photographic prints in conjunction with Boston artist Nancy Deissner. In the foreground, we are moving along with the design of the Homeless Homes Project featuring textiles for blankets and pillows with my cohort Goldilocks Creativelove making sleeping mats by crocheting spun recycles plastic. Some of the designs of this project are now viewable on the website below. The textiles, handmade blankets, pillows and companion fine art prints will be sold to raise money for a the homeless project in Oakland, California with additional plans for a gallery installation. To see a gallery view and for more information, please visit my website at http://www.cherieblackwell.com

SOUTHERN GRAPHICS COUNCIL CONVENTION 2014

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"Reaching," 2014 Cherie Porter Blackwell,
monoprint, drypoint and digital using Akua inks

 

It’s printmaking month in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Coinciding with the Southern Graphics Conference in March 2014, East Bay artist Cherie Porter Blackwell feature’s a new print series showing the design, development, and evolution of monotype/monoprint/drypoint works.  The KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, California offers a "printmaking roulette" of demonstrations by some of the studio's top artists, including Veronica Graham and Jenny Robinson. A companion gallery exhibition features amazing cutting edge printmaking statements:

Approaching Zero - At the Frontier of Contemporary Printmaking

February 13 - April 5, 2014
Artists' Reception: Thursday, February 13, 6 - 8 pm

Miguel A. Aragón
Stella Ebner
Zarina Hashmi
Walter Jule
Kouseki Ono
Katsutoshi Yuasa

Curated by Mayumi Hamanaka
Special Thanks to Archana Horsting
Artist Talk: Kouseki Ono and Katsutoshi Yuasa
Wednesday, March 12, 7pm
Artist Talk with Miguel A. Aragón and Walter Jule
Friday, March 28, 2pm
Bridges SGCI Conference 2014 - Kala Open House: Friday, March 28, 11am -5pm 
Demos, projects, exhibitions and print viewing tour. For more info: http://sgcisanfrancisco.org
Gallery Hours: Tue-Fri, 12-5:00pm; Sat, 12-4:30pm
Gallery location:
2990 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702
510-841-7000

The Approaching Zero exhibition is generously supported with a grant from The Japan Foundation.

PHOTOPOLYMER GRAVURE PRINTS IN BOXED SETS

"Kiwi Leaf" 2014 Cherie Porter Blackwell, photopolymer gravure,
HDR imaging on Nikon D800

I am producing a boxed set of twenty hand-pulled, photopolymer gravure prints for release in late 2014.  These prints feature my original, HDR photography on the Nikon D800 with a botanical and rural farmland themes.  Using Toyobo photopolymer etching plates and the seminal digital negative process developed by Mark Nelson, the photo images are reproduced on the etching plate from a large-scale contact negative.  We are using a hand-blended mixture of etching inks to achieve over 31 step of tonal gradation on fine art printmaking papers pulled through Conrad, French American and other etching presses.  The print work is being accomplished at KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, California and at the studios of Nancy Diessner in Boston, MA.  I am also looking forward to working with Mark Nelson again this fall when he returns to the San Francisco Bay Area for workshops in the photopolymer and platinum palladium processes.