Studio Series: Graphic Screen prints

Graphic screen print © Karen Thiessen, 2016

My printmaking class finished a few weeks ago and now I have a nice pile of prints to collage with. When I sorted the pile, I realized that I also have a substantial number of duds (or works-in-progress) to screen print over. 

Sunny graphic screen print © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Most of my prints are an accretion of patterns. I've learned that some prints go through an ugly process and eventually evolve to something that I am excited to collage with. In the above screen print I can see at least four layers of patterns and I'm pretty sure that they are printed over a colour copy of a collage or quilt. Some days I think that I'd like to make two or three screen registered prints like some of my classmates, but my accretion technique still gives me a lot of energy and satisfaction and unlike conventional approaches, these prints really function as monoprints because no two prints are the same.

Studio Series: Work In Progress

WIP collage 3'X4' © Karen Thiessen, 2016

This is week two of three weeks of mini-studio retreats. The above 3' X 4' unfinished collage is the largest that I have ever made. I am using papers that I have screen printed as well as found papers. I need to live with it for a while to see where it wants to go. It needs taming, but how I do not yet know.

WIP collage 3'X4' © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Once it is finished, I will hang it on the wall where it is propped. The hall is a busy, narrow space so I collaged on 1/4" plywood and will either hang it with metal mirror clips or I'll screw it to the wall with brass screws.

Summer rhythms, etc.

You may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet here. November marks the fifth anniversary of this blog and this year I decided to slow down my summer blogging and actually take some time off. It's my first "break" in nearly five years. I'll write the occasional post, but not three days per week as is my custom.

On another note, I'm learning a new photo editing program (a basic program that came with my scanner) because my Adobe Creative Suite locked me out after nine years of use. It's a legal copy that I paid for, but Adobe wants me to keep spending money. It's caused me rethink how I make my work. Once I find a tool and learn how to use it well, I don't necessarily want to keep having to relearn computer programs. It slows me down and cuts into my efficiency and happiness. Also, I've read that each new iteration of Photoshop and Illustrator is not necessarily better and many folks are unhappy with being forced to use the Creative Cloud. New is not better. Such is life.

My hubby is taking a chunk of time off this summer and we are taming our wild garden. Last week I built 90% of a stone wall and it looks fantastic. Garden work with my hubby means less studio time and solitude, which means less focus. One of my artist friends once commented on summer rhythms as "seasons of work" and this is comforting. Canadian summers are generally only two months long, so I'll mark them with picnics, gardening, sky gazing, and visits on the back patio with friends. In mid-September I'll be back to a regular studio and blogging practice. I haven't yet decided what this blog will look like after the five year mark. Time will tell.

Studio Series: Squeegee Marks Pattern 3

Squeegee Marks Pattern 3 © Karen Thiessen, 2015

My next round of printmaking classes begin in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to learning collography and other ways of making marks on paper. Naturally I'll do some screen printing too as I have a lot of designs on acetate ready to be used. Above is one of Bob's squeegee marks that I put into repeat. I wonder if one can read squeegee marks like some read tea leaves?

Studio Series: Squeegee Marks Pattern 2

Squeegee Marks Pattern 2 © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Squeegee Marks Pattern 2 began with Bob's elegant red squeegee marks. I scanned the newsprint, cleaned it up, scaled it way down, put the marks into repeat, played with the colours, and then layered them. Fun!

Studio Series: Squeegee Marks Pattern 1

Squeegee Marks pattern 1 © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Here's one of Bob's beautiful squeegee marks put into a repeat pattern and then layered. 

Happy first day of spring to you all!

Studio Series: Screen prints 3

Screen print over collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last week I printed a Post Office Grille and Rooster Comb pattern over a variety of papers. Over the years I have amassed piles of colour copies of collages and patterns that I was unable to use in a satisfying way. Many of the collages were from my learning years, and although colourful, weren't good. Above is one of those bad collages vastly improved with the Post Office Grille and Rooster Comb pattern duo. I can't wait to cut it up and collage with it.

 

Screen print over Tangents quilt collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

If you look closely, you may recognize the base print as being the Tangents quilt header image for my blog.

Screen print over old magazine photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Screen printing over old magazine photos continues to be interesting.

Screen prints over collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

As I wrote in my first screen print post, I'm printing over collages and other screen prints. I really like the interaction of the Waves and Post Office Grille patterns. The base paper for the above print is a truly bad collage.

Screen print over Bars collage © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Post Office Grille pattern over a colour copy of a Bars collage. This week I've been collaging tags with my screen printed papers and using the prints is helping me to assess how a print will work or not work. I now have a pile of prints that I will screen print over with new patterns. I can't wait.

Studio Series: Intuitive mark-making repeat pattern

August 14 Lent drawing in pinwheel repeat © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Thanks to your encouragement I created a down-and-dirty repeat pattern with the Lent drawing that I shared with you in my August 29 post. It's a bit rough, but it does the job for now.

Happy weekend to you all!

Studio Series: Mark-making with Letraset & acrylic ink

Letraset & acrylic ink Lent drawing August 2014 © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Lately I've started to mess with prints of old Lent drawings. This is a Letraset drawing to which I've added dots of acrylic inks. I'm starting to collage with the Lent drawings and I'm curious to see how the collages and my Lent drawings influence each other and evolve over the next few months.

Studio Series: Composition in Red 4

Composition in Red 4 © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Composition in Red 4 is a continuation of my work with modules and tags. Half of the tags have had some "textile interference," either through stitching with needle and thread or mark-making with an unthreaded sewing machine. Six of the tags incorporate patterns that I've designed, printed onto paper, and then collaged onto the tags. When I created this piece earlier this year, I could see that I was moving the work forward. Several months have passed and I now see that there is room for me to push the work even further. This summer I've prepared several hundred surfaces to collage on, I am ready to begin and see where the work guides me.

Mark-making drawings

Lent drawing 32a © Karen Thiessen, 2014

This is an old photocopy of a security envelope pattern that I enlarged. Recently I ran it through the copier again with one of my Letraset drawings and then I added more evidence of my hand with acrylic ink and a fine brush. That I left an area unpainted is happenstance: I had done enough mark-making for the day and planned to fill in the rest at another time. When I looked at it the following day, I realized that it resembled a mountain during a snowstorm and decided to leave it as it is. 

Studio Series: Composition in Red 3 (before)

Composition in Red 3 (before) © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Composition in Red 3 is one of the four Composition pieces that I made for my solo show at You Me Gallery in 2013. At first it and Composition in Red 1 were my favourites of the four. I've since changed my mind about Composition in Red 3 and in the process, have reworked this piece and am in the process of reworking Composition in Red 2. At another time I'll share images of the reworked pieces.

One of the things I love about my new work is that I can change it when, after living with it for a while, I see that some of the elements don't work. If memory serves me correctly, I replaced five of the units in this piece. Abstract painter Leya Evelyn also reworks her paintings. She once told me that sometimes she would rework paintings that had come back unsold after a solo show. Inevitably, someone would have seen a particular painting during said show, inquire about it weeks later, and find that Evelyn had completely reworked it. In this case, you snooze, you lose.

Lenten Mark-making practice update

Lent Drawing 20 © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Lent is long over but my mark-making practice continues. As of yesterday I've practiced 65 days in a row and I'm only now just beginning to make interesting patterns. To get to this place, I had to make a lot of messes and play with materials and techniques in new ways. I had to put in a lot of time, at least 40 hours worth. I've now filled three old sketchbooks with my Lenten marks and two more are waiting for attention (I had five sketchbooks that I had abandoned and needed filling). Lent drawing 20 is the combination of two Letraset drawings that I scanned into Photoshop, played with and then printed separately onto the same piece of paper which I then scanned to create one file. With each scanning and printing, the image degrades slightly, and this is interesting. I can't wait to integrate these drawings into my collage and textile practice. The possibilities are endless.

Photoshop: Berry Tree pattern

Berry Tree pattern © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Berry Tree is the result of mucking around with triangles in Photoshop. My Illustrator practice is taking a backseat to my Lenten practice of intuitive mark-making. I'm still obsessed and still can't stop at 15 minutes of practice. I draw for an average of 48 minutes a day. It's still meditative and by spending so much time with this practice, I'm developing skills and making accidental discoveries. I'll share my results with you in another post.

Week 79: Adobe Illustrator + Photoshop

Farmhouse with Birch repeat pattern © Karen Thiessen 2014

I spent my first eight years living in this ramshackle rented house. The driveway was a long walk for short legs to the main road, but the trek was well worth the effort. At the road was a ditch where my brother and I would collect tadpoles in glass peanut butter jars (and ruin our shoes in the mud, much to our mom's dismay). The yard surrounding the house was large. In one corner stood an overgrown common lilac bush into which I could wriggle to its core and hide, a natural fortress. My brother would climb up into the pear tree and pretend that it was a combine. I would sit under the elevated Fina oil tank and eat the ants. The fence along the driveway was electric (to keep the neighbours' animals contained) and for fun my brother and I would dare each other to touch it. We didn't need amusement parks or playgrounds – we created our own excitement ... and survived it.

Photoshop Friday

Oooo pattern © Karen Thiessen 2014

Do you remember this? This week I performed some Photoshop magic on it with the help of my magnetic lasso tool and a lot of rotation and repetition. Oooo pattern adds a cheery warm note to this unusually frigid winter here in Canada. The highlight of January has been binge-watching seasons one and two of Call the Midwife while stitching most evenings.

Week 78: Adobe Illustrator + Photoshop!

Dotty hexbridge on Tea Stain Pattern © Karen Thiessen,  2014

Well, I finally did it– I created a pattern using both Illustrator and Photoshop. The Dotty Hexbridge pattern is old, but the tea stain pattern using triangles is brand new. As I combined the two patterns, made independently of each other, I realized that I can't just slap two random patterns together and make them work. This new discovery is a work in progress. If I stick with this newfound knowledge, I'm curious to see how my work will evolve over the course of a year. I had to relearn (by bumbling and stumbling of course) how to create triangular selections in Photoshop, and eventually I made it work. The trick was to draw an equilateral triangle using the polygon tool and then draw over it using the Polygonal Lasso tool. I had never used the lasso tool in this way and I still haven't figured out what the polygon tool does, other than provide a template for the Polygonal Lasso tool. Progress!!

Studio Series: Chortitza oak pattern

Chortitza oak pattern © Karen Thiessen 2014

Since January is turning out to be "sit at the computer" instead of "play in my studio" month I'm making the most of it. Learning Adobe Illustrator has occupied much of my computer time over the past two years and in the process my Adobe Photoshop skills atrophied. So it's time to dust off my manual and start playing with making patterns in Photoshop again and maybe one day I'll learn how to create patterns using both Illustrator and Photoshop. Chortitza oak is a very basic pattern of a tree that I am obsessed with at the moment.

Studio Series: 8 Stripe collage pattern

8 Stripe Triangles © Karen Thiessen 2014

Normally I like to spend the month of January in my studio feeding my sketchbook, making samples, and playing with new work. This hasn't happened for two years and I miss it. Last year I was working toward my solo Unit(y) show and this year I have a whack of office work to tackle. Basically my image files on the computer were an unorganized mess and many of my files were quadruple what they needed to be. In just three days I dumped 8 GB of unnecessary files, and there's still more to be done. In the process of cleaning out my files, I discovered work that I either hadn't quite finished or hadn't shared. I just finished 8 Stripe Triangles after starting the pattern five years ago. It's based on my 8 Stripe 1 collage It's inspired me to play with triangles again.