Wednesday, 15 July 2009

There's prints and then there's prints

I'm reveling in absolute luxury today, as I collected a batch of fabric panels printed by someone else! It's taken me a long time to decide to do this, but the two-colour block prints are very time-consuming. My new plan is to have batches of a basic design screen printed in a single colour, and then to block print over them. That way the placement is already done, which speeds things up considerably. It also means that I retain some of the lovely qualities of block printing: the softer inking, the variable textures.


Here's one over-printed. What do you think? I kinda like it! I know it's sort of cheating, but it's so efficient.... they're still hand printed, just silk screened, and not by me. I'm also thinking of selling just the panels, over-printed and plain. They're A3 size, so that's big enough for a reasonable range of projects.

19 comments:

lauren fowler said...

Ah!
These are fantastic!
It's not cheating at all!
It's knowing how to use your resources, this way you can sell more and more people will be able to buy your product in a colour that suit them!
Fabulous

painted fish studio said...

i think it's a great idea! the design is still all you, and you are still stamping. it's a good way to produce at a pace that's manageable for you.

Deniz said...

its great! i agree with lula!
love the idea of mixing the two technics. And you also giving someone else work- which is good for the economy :)

Catherine Jones said...

Very good idea! It might even be interesting (for your more adventurous customers) to overprint fabric in an off-register way, i.e., using the established layout but with your linocut motifs not precisely aligned with it. As always, beautifully crafted work...

andrea said...

Why not?? I think the fabric looks lovely and the designs are still yours and still hand done. Can't beat it !

jules said...

I think that's a great compromise. I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and have been really drawn to doing all-over prints, but it's so time consuming. I think you've created a great hybrid, it has wonderful texture and depth! Good work!

Karen Barbé said...

You smart girl!
I think the mixed techniques retrieve the best of each one and without any compromising of your work. Well done!

jacci r said...

Good idea, I look at it as being like collage, some of it hand drawn, some of it digitally printed.

No difference really.

Nice colours by the way.

Susan Scott said...

These are gorgeous.

having the placement done is probably 3/4 the work! Very clever!

what does A3 size mean?

And So I Whisper said...

They look really nice and as you say you keep the texture with the block printing. Softness is always an issue and if you can keep it with this technique then it is great. Your designs are always great! Cheers!

Alex Sunday said...

ooh, they look lovely. and getting a handle on production is brilliant, not cheating! well done!

Ruby in the Dust said...

makes perfect sense! and screenprinting isn't really evil, you know :)

sue bulmer said...

they look absolutely fab, you should be really proud of them.

Heids said...

Love, love, love it! Gorgeous. Great idea.

enid said...

What a lovely over print - I think you should make book bags from them

Pinktulip said...

This is gorgeous! I can see cushions, handbags...

Michelle Engel Bencsko said...

Very clever! Makes your job a lot easier I bet. :) Plus, you still have a bit of the personal touch. Nice!

Novi On The Go said...

The different printing textures creates a lovely handmade look, the result is beautiful!

kitkabbit said...

I love both! but would be more likely to use the softer monochrome panels!!