Do you recognize this smiling woman?

Today was day one of the deconstructed screen printing class I am giving this weekend at Fullerton College. There were about a dozen people in the class - all that the printmaking classroom at the college could accommodate. But everyone had two tables to work on and there were a couple of sinks, so we managed just fine. We spent most of the morning making the thickened dyes, putting them onto the screens and drying them. Everybody brought a variety of STUFF to put under their screens and I provided a bunch of other textured items they could experiment with as they created their screens. I had hoped we could put the screens outside in the sun to dry but alas, no sun. Instead, hair dryers and fans helped things along. Finally, by the time lunch was over, most of the screens were dry enough for printing. Above, the smiling woman applies dye to her screen. I was thrilled to have her show up in my class -- what a nice surprise! Below, Susan Slesinger removes the dye from her screen and deposits it onto the fabric by deconstructing it with print paste. The result is below her picture. In the foreground, Joanne Ratner's piece is coming along beautifully and it seems she is trying to decide where to put the next print. The thing about this process is that you cannot tell how the print will look by looking at the screen. Carol Henke, who organized the class, made the screen below and was sure it wouldn't be very intersting because there were so many open spaces. WRONG. Look at the wonderful abstract print she got from that screen! Jeanette Kelly, in process on what ended up being one of her favorites. Tomorrow we'll talk about how she might be able to use it. When we left the classroom at the end of the day, look what was on the walls... After class many of us went to Carol and Bill Henke's for a barbecue and spent a delightful evening of great food, good company, and stimulating conversation. Tomorrow is another day.