It has been a while since I got my hands dirty with printing. Getting snowed-in today was all the inspiration I needed to transform my kitchen into a mini printing studio.
When I was at NSCAD, my first printing assignment in Intro to Screen-printing was good old potato printing. While it may seem a bit juvenile, but potato printing is an awesome way to get your feet wet when it comes to printing and patterning.
I tend to over-prepare and over-analyze, but the cheap (just 99¢ a lb!) and instant nature of potato printing frees me from those tendencies. Grab some scrap fabric or newsprint and just play around.
Printing blocks made from potatoes are best when they're simple and not overly complicated. I enjoy playing with basic elements, repeated in a variety of ways. You can create pretty sophisticated repeats with just a few basic elements.
I was just playing around on ends of fabric, but I see yardage in my future. I may need a bigger table.