Sometimes I'm such a clever dog ... and sometimes I'm not!

Monday and Tuesday were always going to be busy days.  I am running up to an assessment on Thursday and had to print two metre square samples.  I had made it slightly more difficult for myself because I wanted to do a 3 colour print on each one.  I had problems with one of the screens, so had needed to clean the old emulsion, and recoat it on Friday.  But on Monday, I just had to expose it, and I was ready to run.

Jessie, our technician, who did not want her face shown. 
You can see her red hair instead!

So Monday morning I exposed the screen, washed off the unexposed residue, and dried it.  So far, so good.  But when I offered it up to the other two screens, I discovered I had exposed the original back to front - so the design was reversed!  And I only had two days to get all the printing done (and a half day class as well). 

But I took time out to reflect.  I had to clean, dry, emulse, dry, wash and dry a screen, which was a nuisance.  But I had two screens that I could use first, and I had to iron, and gum down fabric.  So I interwove the processes.  While I was waiting for the screen to dry each time, I either ironed, or gummed down fabric, and repeat printed two of the colour layers.  This meant that by the end of the Monday morning session I had one metre sample with two layers of colour, which I was allowed to leave gummed down until the following day, and the new silkscreen had been exposed, washed and was drying overnight. 

During the afternoon Visual Inquiry class we receievd our results for assessment last week.  I was delighted to get 74%!  I had really struggled in this class at the beginning of semester, and had to work very hard to raise my game.  But work hard I did , and raise my game I did.  I think had I been the assessor I would have been a harder marker, but I think my personal reflection on my work at the review, and the appropriate use of controlled emotion when explaining how my art technique fitted the concept about my Dad, led to a good result. Unfortunately I did not take my camera, so did not photograph my work when it was displayed.

On Tuesday, I checked I'd exposed it the right way round (yippee) and cracked on through the rest of the printing.  And both the white sample, and the beige sample looked rather good.  The beige one in particular looked excellent, because the background was coloured, not white. 

Stage one, outline print complete

Stage 2 - Green colour added, and half of Stage 3, blue

Fully printed. Beige fabric, although looks white.  Looks very William Morris

Green on green print, on white fabric

Compared to the rest of the class, I think I am well prepared for assessment.  Other people have not done their full range of samples, and several did not start their 1 metre samples until Tuesday and are planning to finish them on Wednesday.  Had I left it that late, my reversed print screen would have been a disaster.  And I would have become very stressed and ended up in tears.  This is why I like to work early ... I've engineered myself far too many disasters in the past to assume I will get it right first time.