After using the freezer paper screenprinting technique for the past several months, I decided to try burning a screen, which allows me to spend more time on the design since I can make multiple prints from a screen.
I bought this kit, but also used some of the tools I already had on hand. Using papercut artwork on black paper assures opacity when you burn the screen, but you can see that there was some detail lost in some of the finer pieces, which will guide my process moving forward. I tackled multiple issues along the way, including emulsion drips on the screen, which I had to squeegee again, then I foolishly used a scrub brush to clean the screen, which also removed some of the design from the top and bottom edges. The best thing about printing on fabric is that you are going to cut it up anyway, so mistakes can be sliced away.
Each time I try something new, I find that I become hyper-focused on my mistakes in the process, but always think about how I can correct them next time. I’m going to consider this perseverance and not perfectionism. You may have heard me talk about growth mindset, which is the idea that our skills aren’t fixed, but rather open for improvement. So I might look at the print below and lament that I blurred the edges of my screen, but then I think about how I will get it right next time. This keeps propelling me forward. Onward!
Here’s the papercut.
Here’s the screenprint.
