Print

So after two weeks of crazy and chaotic and at the same time fun and exciting Show project, we have moved to Print. 

At the start of the first week I was looking forward to Print as we were doing screen printing which i haven't done before. It was something new to try out!  I was interested in the process of screen printing as well as its possibilities and limitations. I was ready to learn something new! Get messy with the paints!

Our topic was about mythological creatures which i found to be the most interesting part of the project itself if i think back on it. After researching on the mythological creature chosen, i got more and more interested in the topic rather than the screen printing process. I chose the dragon creature as my focus. The description of the mythological creature was as follows: The peridexion tree grows in India. Doves gather in the tree because they like the sweet fruit, and because there they are safe from the dragon. The dragon hates the doves and would harm them if it could, but it fears the shadow of the peridexion tree and stays on the unshaded side of it. The doves that stay in the shadow are safe, but any who leave it are caught and eaten by the dragon. 

The moral/allegory of the story is that the doves are the faithful Christians, who are safe from the devil as long as they remain in the church. Christ is the right side of the tree, the holy spirit the left side. The devil is afraid of the church and will not come near, but the Christian who leaves the church should beware. Something about the moral behind it that made me choose this creature. Maybe because i am struggling to believe in God? hmm...

Anyway, the first lesson of screen printing i found to be interesting as we were shown the process and how we can manipulate the print to make it more interesting, adding more visual effects, working with color and composition.  I was interested in the process of making a print as it seemed to be very long and mechanical with certain rules to follow. It was interesting as you could build on a print and each one would be different depending on the layers on the other prints and its color. After such demonstrations of the possibilities of screen printing i was itching to start. I started to think of different surfaces the prints could be made on, such as glass, mirrors and uneven surfaces. I wanted to experiment!

A week later and with my stencil already made of my own interpretation of the dragon creature, we were back in print workshop to finally start making some prints of our own! We were split into groups and were given random prints from different people to work with, but after some time of taking turn of making prints it started to get very boring and repetitive. I started to lose interest. Maybe it wasn't challenging me enough like the previous two weeks or maybe the atmosphere wasn't right, too calm? Maybe that says a lot about my interests and the way i work. Maybe i like particular atmosphere when at work which challenges me. Whether it be through scale of work or working to deadline, there's something appealing in that and makes me feel alive. 

I love repetition but in screen printing the kind of repetition it has is not the one that excites me. Screen printing process for me is very mechanical, a bit robotic, it involves equipment and and a stencil. I like the sort of repetition were you make it with your hands.The repetition that you make with your hands such as drawing a pattern on paper allows human error to occur and so the pattern will have some differences every time. I consider this to be the best part.

Although after a while i started to lose interest in screen printing as a process i am still glad that we had an opportunity to try it, and at least now i know how i feel about it. I am not going to rule out screen printing completely but at the moment i don't see myself using it, however that may change over time. We made our prints on paper so next time i will experiment on different surfaces e.g. wood panels and see if i am still interested in this process of art making.

Some of the prints that were made.

Layers of different prints.

~Ev