Oh, I could just BUST!

With excitement.

I tried screen printing for the first time this morning. I know - 'what do you mean, you've never screen printed before?' My husband informs me that he didn't know I was so 'deprived' at my school. Well, we just didn't do stuff like that.


My art lessons at junior high school (middle school equivalent?) were pretty legendary around here.... They were taught by one of those teachers you prefer to forget but whom (grammar) you never do. (Anyone catch the reference? Tell me who says that and I'll send you a fat quarter. Yes, I'm not kidding!)

Anyway, there was no forgetting Mr Whatsisname, because he insisted that, and I quote "All mountains emerge from the ground at a 120 degree angle". To whit: all students are expected to draw a 120 degree angle and turn it into a mountain. Preferably two. And then we all, and I do mean all of us, because if you didn't, he would fail you or even worse, paint it in on top of YOUR painting - we all drew two 120 degree mountains and a stream going between then and a "noice" thatched cottage. Yes, thatched. Always. Advanced students got to put in a "noice" little lake.

Auuurrrgh.

I still look at mountains, and do you know, most of them just haven't got that 120 degree angle thing right. 'Junior Mount Must Try Harder if he is to grow up to be a picturesque mountain and get invited to art shows...'


As you can see, the scars last to this day. His classes might have well-prepared me for some of the jobs I went on to do in the 'real' world, in marketing - but thank heavens for my Mom and Dad, who allowed me to change my mind at the last minute and to attend a fancy-pants state specialist Performing and Visual Arts school on the other side of town. In the rough part near downtown. Brace-toothed, permed me, learned to politely decline when people try to sell me all manner of -'interesting' - objects, needless to say - I was oblivious to most all of it.

- But we still didn't do screen printing!


Here are a few of my efforts from this morning. My class was at the very excellent Thread Den in North Melbourne. I keep fingering the piece of paper in my pocket on which I wrote down the names and addresses of two screen printing supply shops.

Love at first squidge: it's a scary thing.