Printing on paper (letterpress!) and fabric (mordants!)

Mar 15

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During the first week of March, I took a letterpress intensive at the San Francisco Center for the Book. I spent four days setting metal type, playing with wood blocks and polymer plates, learning how to use a Vandercook press, and generally having a great time.

Each day, we completed a different project. It was intense – designing a project; setting the type, blocks, or plates; printing it; and cleaning the press – all in the same day. Lots of thinking on the fly and making do with what was available in the studio.

My two favorite projects are a stationary set covered in cats (story of my life!) and a typeset weaving that required a lot of math and luck.

I'm now certified to rent studio time and print my own projects. Exciting!

I'm also printing on fabric. I'm taking my fourth (!) workshop with Maiwa School of Textiles: Print and Paint with Natural Dyes. This class explores surface design via the direct application of mordants and dyes on cloth.

The first technique we learned was making a mordant paste. We used it to print and paint designs on cloth, and then dyed the fabric in an immersion bath. The dye affixes to the mordant design, leaving the background largely free of color.

This technique requires a lot of calibration and you really must find the right combination of tools and techniques for your situation. I did a ton of experiments: making two different mordant recipes; printing with wooden blocks and homemade stamps made from rubber, foam, or felt; applying mordants using a brush, brayer, or homemade ink pad; and printing on a hard surface vs. one padded with quilt batting. All my samples will eventually be incorporated into future projects.