Old screens, New prints

I've been screenprinting since last night, patches mostly. Although I've gathered supplies for it, I have actually put off printing the entire time I've been in Georgia, mostly because I don't have simple access to a printer/copier type set-up and it's apparently very hard to motivate myself to go to a copy center for whatever reason. Last night I got inspired to see what designs where still on my screens from the last time I printed (almost 2 years ago, yikes!) and I was happy to find the banana seat bike design and promptly printed up a few patches and a couple of shirts too. Today I printed a bunch of the 'gendernaught' design in patch size and I realized that I had never actually used that screen before. I really love the process of screen printing, it's so enjoyable to me. I wish I were better able to make astonishing graphics, but a ladyman can't be good at everything, I suppose.

I'm printing most of the patches on this amazing fabric that I found a while back at the Depot for Creative Reuse (in north Oakland). It's shiny and so luxe, and from the designs the had I think it must be scraps from some sort of industrial neck tie making process, surprise surprise I got the spotted designs, anyway I love it and gold ink is printing on it like a dream! Now I'm just inspired to print everything and fortunately I bought two packages of panties a while back, but I don't like the way they fit without some waistband surgery so most of them have just been sitting in the package for a month or two. I've decided that I will print on them tomorrow (as well as the few I claimed and bothered to perform surgery on), I've got 4 patch sized designs, all of which will fit very nicely on said panties, hurray! I think doing some actual printing was exactly what I needed to inspire me to reclaim the screens and burn some new designs. I may try to do that before I head down to Florida, because it's always good to take plenty of merch. on travels, but we'll see how my time and energy looks.

I got a massage earlier today and it was amazingly nice, I've been holding onto a lot of stuff around my heart for quite some time now and the massage really coincided nicely with my feeling ready (and able) to release some of it that I have wanted to let go of for a while, but just didn't know how to. What a relief. Having made this commitment to myself to maintain a certain level of self-care has really already made such a huge positive impact.
Also, I though it was interesting that at one point when I was on the table I was getting a really strong, distinct feeling that what I truly wanted to be doing with my life was to live out in the mountains of North Carolina and be a potter with my own, tiny ceramics studio. It's funny because I haven't worked with clay in many, many years or even given it much though at all, for that matter. Maybe I need to make a point to get myself into a ceramics studio when I get back to the bay area? At this point I'm probably actually centered enough in myself to be able to more effectively center clay, at the very least. Hmmmmmm.