New Year - New (ish) Class

Happy New Year!  If you follow us, you know we've been MIA on the blog for a while.  Seems that after Houston, we got caught up in holiday preparations and Sue spent some time with her mom in PA, so it was easy to let the blog slip into the background.  But now that 2019 is here, we will try to be more consistent, though we may aim for just once a week to keep things going.  It's hard to know if anyone is reading what we post, so comments would definitely be welcome!

As mentioned in the title, we have revised our Thermofax printing class for the next session we will be teaching in February at Artistic Artifacts.  We have refined our focus to concentrate on the techniques and products that can be used to create images with Thermofax screens, and are calling the class "Thermofax Technique Sampler".  It is suitable for beginners as well as experienced printers, and even if you've taken another version of our class before, there will be some new techniques/products in this one.

We will be working with page sizes of 6 x 8 inches and each one will illustrate a different technique or product that can be used for printing.  Our list runs to 25, so we will be working diligently to get them all completed in this one day class.  When the pages are complete, they can be assembled into a book in any manner you choose.

These 4 techniques include white paint used as a resist, a 2-screen image that has an outline and fill, foil and glue, and a water-based resist.

More techniques are printing with multiple colors, using opaque paint, printing transparent paint over opaque, and printing with a combination of Inktense color blocks and matte medium.  

Here deColourant discharge product is used on 3 different fabrics to show variation.

Another discharge method uses bleach gel, again on different fabrics to show color variations.

Sue chose to print her labels on inkjet fabric and fuse them to the pages, but you can just as easily write directly on the page itself, and include more detail such as type of paint or specific product.

Here's the inside cover and first page.

And the page using foil and glue.

We have this and more in store for you so if you are near the Washington, DC area, we would love to have you join us on February 16 at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria to learn how versatile Thermofax screens can be!

Fall Classes

We are back on the calendar for teaching our thermofax classes this fall.  Printing with Thermofax Screens is scheduled for Oct. 14 at Artistic Artifacts.  Join us from 10 AM to 3:30 PM for a fun day of printing with our extensive collection of original screens.  Many images are elements of nature based on photos we have taken.  Others are more graphic designs.  We will work with textile paints, discharge products and thickened dye.  Bring as much fabric as you like (commercial fabrics, hand dyes, solids, prints) and build your stash of custom printed fabric!  You will also go home with a small screen of your choice, and learn to tape the edges for ease of use.  Go to the AA site for more information and registration.  Below are samples of our work.

And here are some pics of student work from previous classes.

 Come join us and learn to create your own unique fabric!

We are also teaching Photos to Thermofax Screens at Artistic Artifacts on Nov. 4 from 10 AM -1 PM.  We will show you how to use Photoshop Elements to convert a photo to a black and white image suitable for creating a thermofax screen that can then be used in your art quilts or mixed media work.  You will practice with some of our images first and then work with your own to see how you can incorporate your own unique imagery into your work without any concerns about copyright.  We'll also give you tips for taking photographs to make this process easier.  Soon you'll be looking at things with screen images in mind.  If you will be in the metropolitan DC area, come join us on Nov. 4!

Note: While your own laptop and copy of Photoshop Elements are most beneficial, you can share one of our laptops if you don't have one, and/or download a trial copy of Photoshop Elements to try for 30 days before purchasing. (Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for the free trial links.)  Send us an email at pgfiber2art  @ gmail dot com.

Latest Printing Class

Once again, we taught our Basic Screen Printing class at Artistic Artifacts on Saturday.  We had 6 great students who produced some amazing work, and stayed very busy printing as much fabric as they possibly could!

Here are a few of the pieces screened today.

It was a very productive day and these pieces certainly have potential to become parts of some amazing art quilts and mixed media pieces.

On Sunday, April 23 we will offer an open studio class.  If you've taken our class before, come spend the day printing with our screens and get assistance with any questions you might have.  Watch for details in the class listings.

And the winners are...!

Thanks to all who read and commented on our May 1 review of Lyric Kinard's Thermofax 101 DVD.  We hope you enjoyed the blog hop and took the time to comment on other reviews as well.

We put everyone's name into a random name picker to choose a winner of the DVD, as well as a second winner of a medium thermofax screen from our Etsy shop.  And the winner of the DVD is Kris, who commented on May 7.  Kris, please send your mailing address to pgiber2art at gmail dot com.

Our second winner in the random drawing is Mary G, who commented on May 2.  Mary wins her choice of  a free medium screen from our Etsy shop and also needs to send her  mailing address to pgfiber2art at gmail dot com.

If you didn't win and would like to purchase a copy of the dvd, you can find it on Lyric's website.  Thanks everyone for playing along and we hope you will continue to follow our surface design adventures here at PGFiber2Art!

Thermofax 101 - A Review of Lyric Kinard's New DVD and Blog Hop!

We are delighted to participate in a blog hop review launching Lyric Kinard's new DVD,  “Thermofax 101: Screen Printing Made Easy”.  We first met Lyric at a Virginia Consortium of Quilters retreat where she presented a Surface Design Sampler class that included thermofax printing as well as several other surface design techniques.  Because we enjoyed Lyric as a teacher, we later took her comprehensive screen printing class online at Quilt University.  Thermofax printing is the one technique we both fell in love with from this class.  As a result, we purchased our own machine and PGFiber2Art was born.  We owe our start to Lyric and are excited to review her DVD!

It is available for purchase on her website where there is also a short video preview.  But be sure to read to the end of this post for a chance to win a copy!

Whether you're new to Thermofax screen printing or have been using screens for years, there is something in this DVD for everyone.  In a 65 minute instructional video, Lyric provides a fun and fundamental overview of thermofax printing in a comfortable, friendly, easy-going style.  From explaining what a thermofax is, where to find and how to create imagery, how to print, to design basics for creating your own cloth, there is plenty of information here to get new printers started, as well as nuggets of information that experienced printers can incorporate as well.

Lyric’s clear, concise instructions are presented in a logical, step-by-step sequence.  For those curious about what a Thermofax machine looks like, she burns a screen with her 3M machine.  Her thorough explanation of textile paints includes ways to use opaque and transparent paints together and she discharges fabric using Cascade dishwasher detergent.  The screening technique itself is an important part of achieving a quality product and Lyric shows you the best way to hold the squeegee and pull the paint across the screen.  A favorite part of the DVD is the masking technique she uses to create a complex background and an image that really pops.  Several sources for copyright free imagery are mentioned and the DVD includes a resource document with sources for materials and a list of screen providers.  There are providers who sell images as well as make custom screens of your design, so you don't need your own machine.  She whets your appetite with enough information to make you want to pull out the supplies and get started printing, right now!

In fact, that’s just what we did!  Lyric was kind enough to include one of her screens with the DVD for review, and we chose the dragonfly.  Sue pulled out a piece of fabric that was sun printed with Solar Fast dye and looked like it would make a good home for some dragonflies.  These were printed using gold Speedball screen printing ink for fabric.  The fine details of the dragonfly are really beautiful with this paint. 

Another technique we tried was discharge with Cascade dishwasher detergent.  As Lyric shows in the video, you simply pour the Cascade onto the screen as you would paint, and squeegee it across.  In a short time, we could see the bleach in the Cascade discharging the color.  Just be sure to use a product like Anti-Chlor to stop the action of the bleach or it will continue to eat away at the fabric!

We love how this crackle screen adds depth and texture to an otherwise so-so fabric.  That's the great thing about screen printing - you can take a piece of fabric that's not so great or even ugly, and transform it!  Here are a few more examples of discharge with Cascade.

Win a Copy of Lyric's DVD!
This is a great DVD for anyone new to thermofax printing or looking for a refresher.  Please leave a comment telling us what your experience is with thermofax printing (including "none" if you've never tried it!) and we will pick one responder on May 10 to win a copy of Thermofax 101.  International entries are welcome for the DVD.  In addition, we will pick a second responder to win their choice of a medium size screen in our Etsy shop. 

Be sure to check out all the other stops on the blog hop - Lyric is giving away a copy of the DVD for each stop on the hop.  Here is the schedule:

April 24  Cheryl Rezendez http://www.cherylrezendes.com

April 25  Leslie Tucker Jenison  http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com

April 28  Sue Bleiweiss  http://www.suebleiweiss.com/blog

April 30  Judy Gula  http://www.artisticartifacts.com/blog

May 1    Susan Price & Elizabeth Gibson  http://pgfiber2art.blogspot.com

May 2    Judy Coates Perez  http://www.judycoatesperez.com

May 4    Linda Stokes  http://www.lindastokes-textileartist.com

May 6    Jane Davila  http://janedavila.blogspot.com

May 6    Melanie Testa  http://melanietesta.com/blog

May 7    Liz Kettle  http://www.textileevolution.com/index.php/our-journey

May 8    Carol Sloan  http://carolbsloan.blogspot.com

May 9    Kathy York  http://aquamoonartquilts.blogspot.com

May 11  Susan Brubaker Knapp  http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com

May 12  Desiree Habicht  http://myclothesline.blogspot.com

May 13  Jamie Fingal  http://JamieFingalDesigns.blogspot.com

May 14  Deborah Boschert  http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com

May 15  Sarah Ann Smith  http://sarahannsmith.com/weblog

Don't forget to comment on this post for your chance to win, check out all the other blog stops, and if you just can't wait to get your hands on Thermofax 101, you can purchase a copy here!