Summer Screen Printing, Come Rain or Shine

Over the last year I've been spending alot more time drawing, printing and eating biscuits. So I'm looking forward to a chance to put both my 10 years of teaching experience and enthusiasm for screen printing to good use. On Saturday the 18th of August I'll be running a screen printing class at Birmingham Printmakers in Digbeth. 

Particpants will learn how to make a photo-stencil by coating silk screens with photo-sensitive emulsion, exposing their own designs onto the screens using an exposure unit and then washing out the designs.They will also use a vacuum bed and learn registration techniques to enable them to print a small edition of two colour screen prints. Hopefully there will also be time to take a look at contemporary screen printing and a selection of work by a few of my favorite screen printers.

If you ever want a screen printing class just let me know, karoline@chichira.com or failing that if you stand still for long enough I'll teach you to screen print anyway, whether you want to learn or not.

The International Alternative Press Festival

This weekend I'm making my annual pilgrimage to the International Alternative Press Festival, a mecca of all things self published including comics, zines, illustration and print. Alongside over 100 other exhibitors I'll be selling a selection of my hand printed cards, some mini prints, the last few Magic postcard books, Magic zines and also Obsession zines. It's a big event to organise and undoubtedly wouldn't happen without alot of hard work from a dedicated team of enthusiasts. My contribution is pretty small by comparison but it's good to know I've helped in some small way by printing a batch of International Alternative Press tote bags in a very nice metallic black fabric ink. Hopefully no one will notice the 2nd is actually missing from the 2nd International Alternative Press Festival because I'd quite like to be invited back to do the 3rd International Alternative Press Festival.

 The 2nd International Alternative Press Festival

Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th August 2012
11am - 5pm

Conway Hall

25 Red Lion Square

London

WC1R 4RL

http://alternativepress.org.uk/

Print, Print As Fast As You Can...

...You can't catch me because I'm the Gingerbread Man! I've printed another batch of these bad boys and they certainly are tricky little fellows to get right. The registration has to be fairly accurate added to which printing metallics is difficult because they tend to block the screen mesh quicker than regular inks. Probably not the best thing to print on a hot summers day.

Good Enough To Eat

I was wondering what to do with a stack of lovely yellow recycled card I ordered a while ago. Finally I decided to reprint my old 'Cakes Versus Fruit' design which was originally produced as a gocco print. It is true to say that 'Cakes Versus Fruit' is a constant dilemma in my life and unfortunately the cakes usually win. I like to think that a few hours screen printing actually helps to burn off the extra calories but who am I kidding?

More Folk Art

Over the last couple of months I've been working hard on some new Folk Art inspired designs for a group exhibition in London. I really wanted the chance to produce bigger silk screen prints, to experiment with coloured backgrounds and to use good quality printmaking paper. It took me alot longer than expected to both draw and print the designs, believe it or not it was actually the first time I'd done A3 screen prints. Luckily my efforts weren't in vain and a framed copy of 'Folk Tree at Night' sold at the private view as well as some of the unframed prints.

You Are My Sunshine

I should really be fed up of my 'You Are My Sunshine' design as I've been printing it since January 2010 but it's still one of my favorites. And as if the cards aren't enough there are also different sized 'You Are My Sunshine' silk screen prints, so all in all this design keeps me pretty busy.

A little bit of Magic

The Magic zine and colouring book is still one of my favorite publishing projects and it features allsorts of talented illustrators including Ruth Green, Mina Braun, Beth Morrison, Helen Entwisle and Sarah Lippett. I drew a series of Hopi Indian Kachinas for the Magic Zine and the cover was drawn by Gemma Correll. There is also a colouring book cover which was designed by Kate Hindley. I've lost count of how many covers I actually screen printed, it seemed to take forever but was worth it in the end because both designs look great. The inside pages were beautifully litho printed in dark green by Tuckey Print in Birmingham.