This week I’m on a countdown, myself and my beads will be travelling down to Uttoxeter race course next Thursday to take part in the UK Flame Off. It’s a fantastic show full of everything a bead maker could desire and is a great chance to shop, sell and spend time with friends.
So all I’ve been doing since we last met is making beads, making beads and making more beads. Today I thought I’d show you my new favourite
technique.
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| Exciting new techniques! |
If you’ve followed my posts here on the blog, you may have spotted that I love surface design, and I’ve been working hard to create my own style using the results of lots of experiments. My goal was to create beads with images on them. I love to sketch and wanted to try out putting some of my drawings on to my raku beads and pendants.
I really enjoy the process of creating, but I’m very impatient. I want quick results that I can easily repeat. So after becoming frustrated with trying to paint designs, I decided to try out screen printing.
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| Sketches |
The designs were transferred from my sketch book to my computer and I printed a transparency.
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| Laser printed transparency |
The screen is prepared with a light sensitive emulsion, the transparency is placed over it, and the whole thing is exposed to a bright light for a few minutes.
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| Exposing the screen |
The screen is then washed out and the unexposed areas of the screen are revealed with the design.
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| All is revealed |
I mixed up some ink using black stain, and printed on to tissue paper.
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| Tissue transfer prints drying |
The transfers were cut from the paper and pressed on to clay shapes to make pendants and beads.
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| Transferring the image |
And after bisque firing, they were glazed and raku fired.
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| Finished screen printed beads & pendants |
And a few re-fired with precious metal lustres.
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| Lustre fired beads |
I love how they turned out and I can't wait to make more, I need to get back to sketching... I just have to make a few more beads!
