Improved Marbling

Let's see if I can keep this post brief for a change . . .

Here are the results of my marbling experiments from last week, when I used a methocel base.  (In my previous post, I showed photos of the drops of paint spreading on the surface of the methocel base.)

1st print

 2nd print (red "cells")

3rd print:  I got my daughter, Lauren, interested, and she moved the blue and yellow dyes around to get this print.  Nice!  I did more marbling later in the week, but to keep things interesting last weekend, I put aside the methocel base for a few days and pulled out my screenprinting supplies.

I have one Thermofax screen (featuring maple leaves) that I got from Marcy Tilton (www.marcytilton.com); the others are from a different technology -- Photo EZ screens.  I purchased those from Ginny Eckley at Quilt Market      http://www.photoezsilkscreen.com 

                           

      Screens for  . . .  screenprinting!

             Screenprinting on watercolor paper                 

Screenprinting on canvas, muslin, painted fabrics, and used Color Catchers 

(disposable dye-trapping cloths  -- used

when washing new, bright clothing items

or any fabrics that might bleed)

My Great Thermofax Deal

I bought a Thermofax machine from craigslist last fall, but I can't use it.  The price was incredible; now I know why.  The lightbulb it requires (which "burns" the image onto the screen) would cost me over $300!  That's because they're so rare.  It seems that my Thermofax is not the same "common" model that most screenprinters and tattoo artists use.  My other option is to ship it to a dealer in the midwest (and it's HEAVY); he can reconfigure it so that it takes the more common lightbulb (still around $100).  Whichever route I take, we're still talking at least $300.