Last night I taught week three of a five week Screen Printing workshop out of the textile studio at Harbourfront. As I am nearing the end of my three year artist residency, I wanted to give my students a rare treat and share with them one of my favorite processes, Polychromatic screen printing.
Polychromatic screen printing combines both silk-screening and painting techniques to produce watercolour-like images on paper and cloth. By painting directly onto open mesh or exposed silk screens, polychromatic allows you to print multiple colours using a one-step process... and the results are shockingly gorgeous!
Here are some images of prints taken from the workshop:
A little while ago I came across this video that I find really inspiring. Every now and again I find myself re-watching it... I guess it sort of triggers that feeling of what it is like to be in the studio experimenting, playing and just working with your materials in-the-moment.
I hope you enjoy it!
Maarten De Ceulaer:
The Balloon Bowls are created by casting strong synthetic plaster into a balloon, after which a second balloon is inserted, and inflated. These two balloons act as flexible moulds, ensuring a unique shape for each and every bowl. Once the plaster is set, the balloons are removed, and a bowl appears. The colorants, which are added to the water prior to mixing it with the plaster powder, emerge differently each time again, creating uncontrolled and often spectacular color patterns. The bowls are finished with a special coating (matte or glossy) which reinforces the plaster, makes it waterproof and usable for many purposes, it is also dry food approved.
The process is an experimental review of a traditional ceramic practice. Instead of using porcelain or clay, plaster is used as the end material, not just as an inferior material to make moulds with. The project is all about serendipity; the parameters that influence the process are known, but still the result is always a guess, and never turns out exactly the way you expect it.
