screens and ink and another technique to play with

Have I told you that I've decided that I'd like to get into screen printing?  Seriously, it's more fun and actually easier than I thought it was going to be!  Earlier in the year I told you about a workshop that I did with Learn2Screenprint where we went through so much information and so many techniques that it was impossible to process it all at once.
Yesterday I was able to do another workshop where we used the technique of photo emulsion and exposure, a technique that I was really keen to get my hands dirty with.

In its essence, photo emulsion is a paint-like medium that is put onto a screen, then overlaid with a design on acetate (you can see my dahlias above).  The screen is kept in the dark, then when the design is in place, it's exposed to light to burn the black design onto the screen.  The screen is then washed, and what you see in black is removed.  The emulsion that was hit by the light is hardened and sets onto the screen.  The black protects the emulsion behind it, and then is washed off.  Voila, a very sharp image and potentially superfine designs are left on your screen, ready for inking and printing.

This is the test print I did (all I had time to print yesterday unfortunately), but the photo shows how sharp and crisp that edge is, and how the design can come up.  I'm excited by this type of screen production because of the results that you can print from it.  I'm lucky enough to have access to a darkroom and therefore the exposure lights required to do this myself, but I can definitely see myself using the professional services of screenprinting companies to expose my designs onto screens as well.  I have SO many designs and products running through my mind, just itching to jump onto the fabric.