Quite a lot of "resistance" - in Steven Pressfield terms - this past week.  I have struggled to get into the studio and get going ... even though I had eleven screens ready to print.  And then when I did start, I managed to make preparing cloth and mixing dye last a whole day!   

I think in part this is a perverse response to the fact that things have been going well.  I like the samples I've already printed so much as they are ... and yet I know they need something more.  So there's been a subconscious reluctance to "meddle" with the process and just keep doing more of the same - play "safe" ... maybe just change scale.  

The other factor I think is that this is quite a change in my process.  Preparing and printing the screens involves making different kinds of decisions.  And at an earlier stage in the process of producing cloth.  I'm having to adjust to this.  

And yet another factor is that I am unsure how I am going to work with these pieces.  I love what's happening and know that this is a direction I want to pursue ... but I have no idea at this point how I will turn these into finished work.  (And, yes, I do know I don't need to have the answers to that yet!)  

I always draw comfort from Pressfield's assertion that if you're feeling resistance to doing something, you're getting somewhere.  And the only useful response is to get back to work.  I got my act together and printed over half the screens.  I experimented with different kinds of cloth and started to bring in more colour and layer marks.  The one above was printed on muslin with a plain cotton underneath.  Well, it had to be tried but this was not one of the more successful, or most interesting, trials.  I want to evaluate the results before I print the remaining screens, but it's looking promising.  One thing that has helped has been to bring in elements from previous work.  It's helping me to find my way in.  

Not many images with this post.  I'm wary of sharing too much when my ideas are at such a fragile stage.  This is actually a good sign - it means I think I'm making progress.