Searching for Myself...

Sometimes I teach so many screen print classes and community workshops that it seems like I've forgotten who I am as a printer.  I like to keep as many screens as possible clean and available for workshops and I have to remind myself that it's really important for me to get up into the studio and make use of them. 

But it's not just a case of using the equipment.  It's also about having my head filled with student's/ community projects.  I mean that in the best way possible - I sometimes wake up in the night and think "I know exactly what ____ needs to solve his/her design problem".  It can be hard to maintain my own creative identity.

My solution has been to start drawing again.  So over the past year or so, I've been giving a bit of time to my sketchbook.  I decided just to commit to the process of drawing and not worry about whether the drawings were good or not. It's been a challenge for me to keep the inner critic quiet, but gradually I think my drawings are improving.

 I've done lots of flowers because they are both complicated and forgiving as subjects. And they don't move, so I can draw really slowly.

I tentatively started developing prints from some of these while I was in France in the summer. I used a tiny screen and set up on the kitchen table.  They were great gifts for when we were asked out to supper!

I now have a whole year of drawings just waiting to be cut out and printed.  Watch this space!

And on the subject of workshops:

Here are 2 Saturday day schools/ studio sessions in Small Scale Screen Printing onto Cloth for the Cambridge area:

23 March 2019   Cottenham Village College

30 March 2019   Impington Village College

These are separate workshops organised by separate colleges. They are designed to be separate classes but you could do both days if you wanted to do multi layered prints. Click on the college name to get the link.

Happy printing!!!