Haplessly Crafty: Block Printing

Posted on by March 23, 2020
A few samples of historically recreated printed textiles using modern materials. The folded squares at the front are handkerchiefs. Designs and printing by RL Fifield, 2013.

A few samples of historically recreated printed textiles using modern materials. The folded squares at the front are handkerchiefs. Designs and printing influenced by 18th century originals,  by RL Fifield, 2013.

I’m having some fun with block printing textiles recently. I’ve been experiencing a “sewing block” so I’ve moved on to playing with acrylic screen printing ink, foam brayers, and lino gouges. Nothing like getting out the stresses of the work day with a gouge in your hand. In recreating some of these textiles, I’ve realized the overall visual impact they must have had. For instance, the “shell pattern” at the right in the adjacent photo looks like scales. The patterns of printed textiles, mixed with the stripes, checks, and varying colors of the working woman’s wardrobe, contributed to the overall visually intense appearance.

It was a way of getting noticed, on a budget.

IMG_0922

Posted in Design, Dress History, Material Culture Tagged , , permalink

About Becky Fifield

Becky Fifield is a cultural heritage professional with 25 years experience in institutions large and small. She is currently Head of Collection Management for the Special Collections of the New York Public Library. An advocate for preventive conservation, Ms. Fifield is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation, Chair of the AIC Collection Care Network, and former Chair of Alliance for Response NYC. She is also a scholar of 18th century female unfree labor and dress. There's a bit of pun in the title The Still Room, delineating a quiet space brimming with the ingredients of memory, where consideration, analysis, and wordcraft can take place. Ms. Fifield’s interests include museum practice, dress history, historic preservation, transit, social and women’s history, food, current events, geneaology, roadtrips, and considerations on general sense of place. Becky and her husband, Dr. V, live in the Hudson Valley.