16. The final print

The last color to be printed was red. I painted drawing fluid into the stencil from the previous print. Just the roof tops, the inside of the windows, some leaves and detail on the flowers and the lettering will be red. Fifth and final color - the finished Valentine.

I printed about 30 of these on white Stonehenge paper.

There is no message on the inside - I can write a short note.

I did print my initals and 2008 on the back of the cards.

15.The third and fourth colors printed

Using the same future stencil, more drawing fluid was painted wherever I wanted to have this light lavender color. Then I spread more Future, washed out the screen filler and printed.

Third color alone - First, second and third colors

Fourth color - First - fourth colors

Then removed all of the Future with ammonia and painted drawing fluid onto the screen filler stencil wherever this next color was to go. I made a screen filler stencil and
printed this gold/tan color.

14. Printing with the Future stencil

After the drawing fluid in step 13. dried, I spread screen filler over the entire screen. I washed out the screen filler with cold water and was left with this stencil on my screen. Everything that is dark red was protected from the filler by drawing fluid and will remain the white of the paper for the edition. Now I have painted blue drawing fluid wherever I want my first and maybe my second colors. I will spread two coats of Future over all, wash out the drawing fluid, dry and print.

Yellow is the first color that I will print. You can see that it is where I painted the drawing fluid. I will wash just the ink from the screen and dry it. Then I will paint more drawing fluid into the Future stencil for the next color which will be green.

Here is the green printed over the yellow.

13. Making the Screen Filler Stencil

I put the layout of my Valentine into its register guides in place under the transparent screen. With the screen separated from the layout with some strips of mat board, I painted all of the areas that I expect to be any color in the final print with screen drawing fluid ( blue) directly on the screen. I used small watercolor brushes and a drawing pen for this. The drawing fluid is water soluble and any mistakes can easily be taken out with plain water. I worked on this until it looked the way that I wanted. Whatever is blue drawing fluid can be printed. Whatever is not blue will be plain paper.

12. Using Acrylic Floor Finish as a Blockout

Years ago I hoped to find a blockout that could be temporaraly used and removed without disturbing the screen filler blockout. I tried a number of materials. Then one day I was reading the American Artist magazine and read of a printmaker who used Future Floor Wax directly on the screen with an airbrush to make graduated tones. I experimented with Future and found it too thin to spread over a screen. I reduced it on the stove by simmering it for about half an hour or until it was about half of the original quantity. See step 6. in this blog.

I have found this material to be very helpful. It cleans out of the screen with clear ammonia and doesn't disturb any screen filler. It works best when it is used for small areas within a screen filler stencil. I use two coats of Future and dry each right after I spread it over the drawing fluid.



During my class this week I will show how to use Future to make a colorful Valentine. I started by designing a card inspired by Clarice Cliff pottery. I set up the registration on my screen bed and proceeded to make a drawing fluid and screen filler stencil of every area that I want to print.

This card is 10" wide and 7" high, when folded it will go into a standard A - 7 envelope. My initals and the year will be on the back. I don't plan to print the inside of this card.

11.Registration for multicolor prints

Tomorrow, I will be teaching a new class at the Centennial Art Center of Hamburg. I have 8 students in this class. The Art Center is an old one room schoolhouse - we have the place to ourselves on Sunday afternoons. There is plenty of space for everyone. Two of my students are new to screen printing and the others have all taken my classes before. I want to use this blog as a teaching tool. For this first class, I will emphasise proper registration.

Registration is of primary importance in multicolor printing.

It is not hard to achieve almost perfect registration by starting off by having the image to be printed on a sheet of print paper that has been cut for this edition of prints. The image could be drawn right on the print paper or mounted onto a sheet of the print paper with a glue stick. The image should appear about in the center of the screen. Tape the print paper onto the screen bed with a couple of pieces of masking tape. You will need three rectangles of cardboard for registration guides.

The cardboard should be a just little thicker than the print paper. Cereal boxes and other packaging could be used. Use glue stick to cover one side of the cardboard guides. Place the guides onto the screen bed so that they butt up to the print paper at the ends of the longer side of the print paper. Put masking tape over the guides – not too close to the paper. You don’t want the tape to extend where the guide and the paper meet. Be sure that there is glue under the guide at the edge where it butts up to the paper so that the paper will not slide under when setting it in place for printing. Repeat with the third guide at the corner away from the hinges on the screen bed. Now you can remove the masking tape that was first put down.

Every time that you put a sheet of print paper into the guides it will be in the right place for good registration. This works for reduction printing with one screen and for prints made with multiple screens. If you use multiple screens, have them all hinged to the same screen bed and use this method of registration.

10. The final color has been printed.

Using the reworked screen from step #4, I painted screen drawing fluid onto the detail of the birds and the tree trunks. I used Future again to make a stencil and printed with a soft brown ink. I painted right over most of the birds and tree trunks, being careful not to put drawing fluid any where else. After printing brown, I was able to add the little bit of rose to the tree on the left.

I made 40 of these prints. The image size is 7" x 10 ". They will go nicely into an 11" x 14" frame.

I think that I will name the edition "In a Glasgow Garden" in homage to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret McDonald Mackintosh.