handmade print exhibit

Yesterday was a mostly grey, dreary day but so super exciting for me, personally.  That is because yesterday (drumroll) I along with three of my students hung our very own handmade prints up for display!

The exhibit was a result of the hand-printing class I taught at the end of last year.  We covered stenciling, hand-carving stamps and screen printing.  It was obvious that what we were making deserved to be showcased.  

The lovely folks at the Main Street building I use to for my classes, agreed to let us display in their big front window facing the town’s main street.  Whoever was available gathered yesterday to hang them up.  We are gangbusters, aren’t we? I am just a wee bit proud of this endeavor.  By that I mean, I’m hugely proud.

We started by putting all of the prints in embroidery hoops and glueing them in place (I illustrate at the end of this tutorial). Then someone had the great idea to tape two back-to-back making them reversible…with different prints visible from inside the building and outside the building.  Genius, right?

Look at all those amazing prints!  Really, it was such a pleasure to be involved in such a creative and energetic making process.  Many of the prints are very subtle and soft and I think reflect the quiet, everyday, imaginative moments for many of us.  In the window they hang pretty quietly as well…but so beautifully.

I am not going to lie, I’m craning my neck every time I go by and smiling every time. And, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one finding reasons to admire the window.  Sometimes we are just moms making it happen and then sometimes we are rockstar screen printers displaying our hearts out! Remember how I’m looking for courage?  I think I got this one.