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This is a fun printing process but dangerous for a number of reasons. I had 8-10 small screens with ink in them at one time so in effect I was troubleshooting all those screens during the run. I had to be prepared to repair with duct tape leaks in each screen as they became known while keeping the flow of pulling all the screens regularly. If I slowed down the possibility of ink drying in the screens increases. For this reason I flooded the screens after each pull before putting it back in position. Flooding the open screen areas prevents ink on the surface of the threads from drying and building up until the screen clogs. This gives you a little longer to pull the print before a blocked screen results. The real key, as always in screen printing, is to keep a steady rhythm of pulling ink across the screen. If it is printing good - keep printing. If something interrupts, correct it and get back to printing pronto. I printed this run on a small table. The blank t-shirts were on a chair close by. The screens were in two piles with the ink flooded screens held off the table by 1x2" wood scrapes underneath their ends. I placed the t-shirt on the table as smooth as possible without a lot of fuss. Snatching screens from one pile I selected a location on the T and printed, flooded, placed the screen back on pile 2, and repeated with a new screen from pile one. I used one squeegee for all the screens. The t-shirts on one side printed were laid on the floor or any other surface available. The run was about 20 t-shirts. The diagnoses earlier this day was I did have pneumonia. I thought I should keep the run short for health reasons. Once the first side was done, I cleaned the screen from the bottom with a damp cloth and wiped the bottoms dry. I have two images per small screen so I carded the ink on the screen over to the unused image on each screen in preparation for printing the second side. Working with the first previously printed t-shirt first which had the most drying time, I printed the different set of designs on the second side. Space on both sides was left for me to lay in the type - Peace on Earth - for the front and - Good Will Toward Humans - on the back. This was most fun in trying to create interactions between the peace-faces and the type by twisting the faces gazes in various poses and locations. None were the same. I enjoy this aspect of screen printing. I took the two type screens home with a small can of ink and a squeegee to finish when I felt better on my living room table. Buy one of these soon. There are no guarantees I will ever print it again. Haha! c drew 12/29/2005 Screen printing in the hands of an artist is not just a technical skill - it is an art.
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C Drew * E-mail
cdrew@c-drew.com * Ph.773/678-7545 * P.O. Box 608081, Chicago, IL 60626 
SPW Art | Harold's Chicago Cultural Plan | ART-ACT ART | Other Artists |