Tote Bags

For the past month or so, I've been working on teaching myself how to screen print. Not an easy task, I have to say! I chose to use photo emulsion to create my screens, as opposed to stencils.

Sensitized photo emulsion is picky. First, I had to coat my screen evenly to provide a smooth surface for spreading ink, but still thick enough to prevent holes in the screen that could ruin a print. This has to be done in a low-light environment.

The next step is what took me the longest - exposing, or "burning", my illustration onto the screen. When exposed to light, photo emulsion hardens. Areas not exposed wash out with cold water. The design I chose has some pretty thin lines, which made it more difficult to get a good burn. Under-exposure causes holes when the emulsion is washed out, over-exposure means that light leaks under the transparency and prevent my design from burning. After my emulsion dried, I placed two transparencies with my design on them over the screen. This part took some trial and error (a loooot of error, actually), but eventually I found that using a 200 watt incandescent bulb for 25 minutes gave me great results.

After that, it's easy-peasy - all you have to do is flood the screen with ink and print away! This is the first bag I have to offer, and they're up in the Etsy shop now! Take a look.