KALA:screens

Started printing today. Working on an edition of about 90 for a couple of portfolio exchanges coming up. The paper is 5 by 7 inches. Started out with a solid field of color then did 2 screens of monoprints over that using watercolor, gouache and water soluble crayons and pencils.  Gouache acted like a resist. This is experimental. Learning as I go.

I could not print a nice solid color because of the poor condition of the screens. I guess I'm a bit crazy when it comes to cleaning my screens at home. That is not the practice here. I decided to not fight the aesthetic of the crappy tool. So the backgrounds are uneven and I added alcohol to the screen to create even more texture.  I am trying to get used to the dry weather, unlike the humid Midwest, inks dry very quickly here. This tends to clog the screen, so I'm altering how I work. I am adding some charcoal to the images then I will print another layer tomorrow.

I was the last one to leave the old ketchup factory tonight.  It was nice to have the place to myself.  It is always full of people and there seems to be a lunch time party every other day. I took the bus home (most of the way). I read the street sign backwards- a bit tired and distracted. I got off the bus 10 blocks too soon. I took a different path home and realized that 2 blocks north of my street is a hipster neighborhood with lofts and BMWs. Glad I found the safer route: avoiding the ladies with dirty babies, homebums that smell like cat pee and the prostitute corner in front of  a liquor store that sells hot sauce 24 hours. Whatever that means.