DIY: silkscreening from home

One of my favorite techniques I learned while in art school was Silkscreening. As a graphic deisgner, I tend to spend a lot of time on the computer so I love any chance that I can get to be hands on and crafty. Silkscreening is a long process that requires a lot of attention and patience but can also be quite enjoyable and definitely rewarding! Silkscreening from home is not the easiest task and does not always produce perfect results but if you are up for the challenge and enjoy experimentation, this could be a great project for a rainy afternoon. Click here for project instructions and material lists.

Trial and error is another important note in silkscreening. Things ussually don't turn out perfect the first time around but it just allows for happy mistakes to happen that might actually lead you in a more interesting direction.
This particular silkscreening project I worked on was on a very large scale. I taped down an actual silk sheet to my living room floor and took on the ambitious task of printing a pattern over the entire sheet. The hard part about a pattern is that everything has to match up exactly. This requires a lot of patience so if you are looking for a more easy going project I would stick to a more simple design on a much smaller scale.
This was all part of a project I was currently working on called The Balance Project. It is all based around a website that basically allows you to visualize your personal balance in life and creates a balance 'symbol' that is unique to you. The image that I printed is an example of a particular balance symbol and how it can be applied to actual tangible things in your life, taking it from theoretical to actuality.

The final dress was more for show purposes than anything else but it was great to see it come to life, taking on an actual form and purpose.