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Screen Printing


Judith B

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So I searched the forum and didn't find what I was looking for. So here I am: what do you use for screen printing? As in, I want to use the screen printing technique to apply glazes on say, mugs. What should the screen be made of? I guess it has to be flexible but also durable and also something I could cut to create the patterns.

Did any of you ever tried that? If yes, how do you do?

 

Thanks! :)

 

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http://mobile.ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/form-pattern-and-underglaze-wheel-throwing-and-decoration/

 

And

 

http://mobile.ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/volumetric-image-transfer-on-pottery/

 

The Meredith Host one is on sale, and I think from the video excerpt, it's worth the price.

 

You could also try something low tech, and paint or print onto newsprint, and then apply the paper to the pot.

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Screen printing on uneven and round surfaces can be slightly complicated

or a simpler idea

Yes, that would be more what I'm looking for. What I am interested in is having a flexible screen on which I can imprint any kind of negative pattern to then apply the glaze through the screen. But I am not sure what kind of material I would need the make sure the glaze could go through for the screen.

I came across this image on instagram a few days ago and that looks like the kind of thing I would like to do: http://instagram.com/p/xtNFcjoZFH/but no idea how they did it. I will look into the books you all recommended, thanks!

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Yes they have a book by him at the library, I should have it in a few days! I will definitely let you all know if there is anything really interesting, in case someone else want to try.

No I am not sure wether I want to use slip or glazes, I will probably have to experiment.

In case any one else is interested, in one of her videos, Meredith Host was mentionning this brand: http://ezscreenprint.comfor the prints. It doesn't look too complicated and can be easily bent to fit on a cylinder

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In the Instagram you mentioned, there's a seam visible on the inside of that centre cylinder. That says to me this piece was likely printed flat, and then hand built. You could make a stencil of that kind of geometric pattern that out of tar paper, and apply a really thin coat of underglaze or slip onto a slab. Once it sets up a bit, you build your cup or vase from there.

Looking at the artist's feed a bit more, she may be using a technique involving defocculated slip and ink jet photocopies.

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For a brief interval in the video below at time 2:44 you can see an example from Faiencerie de Gien, of screen printing to tissue paper, then transfer by hand onto a compound curved surface. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpMzhOANjpQ

 

Classically, the tissue transfer technique used engraved copper plates, with a stiff oil-based ink, printed hot.  There might be one commercial pottery who still do it this way (Burleigh).

 

Screen printing gives some advantages, especially in wider choice of ink vehicles, and the possibility of using ordinary water-based glazes or underglazes.  One problem is that the solids in glazes or mix-your-own colorants tend to be coarser than typical screen printing ink pigments.  This could argue against using the more convenient pre-sensitized screens, and instead toward coating a coarser screen material with liquid photosensitive emulsion.

 

My own results with screen printing were not good, but I did not persist at it.  My objectives have been more toward understanding the old copper plate technique (reconstructing some industrial history) than toward creative expression.

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Yes, that was my only concern, that glaze probably had some much bigger particles than ink and that maybe it wouldn't go through the screen.

What did you use when you tried screen printing?

I started reading Image Transfer on Clay by Paul A. Wandless, he explains how to make your own screen from scratch. It sounded all very complicated to me but I'll keep reading. What I was  more interested in though, I think, was what he calls 'direct printing' where your print directly on the pot instead of using some newspaper or any other kind of material. That is what I want to look into.

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What did you use when you tried screen printing?

Speedball framed screen, Speedball or Jacquard emulsion, Speedball or Duncan glazes, Coyote underglaze, Mason stain and frit in neutral screen print ink base. Proofs on ordinary paper did not look good and attempts to print onto decal paper were worse. I could not reconcile the fine feature sizes that I needed with the screen mesh and poor ink transfer through the screen. A design with larger features might work better.

 

Stuff is mass produced this way (like the cartooned tea mug next to me), but with engineered specialist materials and processes.

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thank you judith for the remarkable video (vimeo?) about heidi harrington which you posted yesterday.  i watched it 3 times and stopped it to get a closer look at every step.  

 

what is the tool she is using to sand the edges of the bowl?  i have never seen it before and cannot make out whether it is a dry sponge or something else that is more abrasive

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thank you judith for the remarkable video (vimeo?) about heidi harrington which you posted yesterday.  i watched it 3 times and stopped it to get a closer look at every step.  

 

what is the tool she is using to sand the edges of the bowl?  i have never seen it before and cannot make out whether it is a dry sponge or something else that is more abrasive

Yeah I know this is so amazing!

I think she uses first a dry sponge (I'm not sure why) but then she uses regular sand paper (mounted on a square of foam). But yeah I found the process really amazing.

For those who are interested, here's the video oldlady is talking about: Heidi Harrington

 

Bny, did the processes you tried allow you to have some some modulations of colour? It looks like most screens would just allow you to have either colour or not colour but no in-between.

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i took a class in screen printing after seeing it done at the Torpedo Factory in alexandria va.  you can print as many colors as you like, a new screen is used for each color.  the hard part is lining up the edges of the colors so they either do or do not overlap as you choose.  still have several frames that i have not used.

 

i left the harrington video and went all over the Surrey artists.  what a lot of great stuff they create!

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