Melanie Testa

Fleur de Lis

27 prints, before steam and boil.

This Fleur de Lis pattern is a three color print, utilizing a thermofax screen print for the line drawing, and a two part fun foam stamp set, to print the background and the inside of each Fleur de Lis.

I tried to plan out what colors would get printed and where. I tried to adhere to my plan too, but my dyslexia got the better of me. I transposed numbers and generally got happy and forgetful of my intention. I am not worried though. These colors go quite nicely and these are a great set of quite usable fabrics.

(Sorry this photo is not upright, the blogging software is being wonky and I tried to fix it, but no)

I will use the remaining unused dye in single-color, supportive prints. I hope for equal numbers of prints, but we will see what happens. In the meantime, it’s time  to steam and wash.

Take note of the color intensity there! It will lessen some with steam and wash! It’s part of the process, and so, it is expected.

 

Fleur de Lis, plus an update

 

I am on a new and different life path, it has been a long time in the coming and is a welcome change. I have decided to become a certified personal trainer and to broaden my employment skillset. I have discovered that I love lifting weights and that I love cardiovascular aerobic exercise! Who knew! My long term goal is to get an additional certification so that I can work with special populations, like cancer patients, queer and transitioning individuals, and those who seek to improve their body image and self love skills through physical exercise.

I have been dance/walking the streets of New York City, listening to songs like Lizzo’s Boys (whom I love for her fantastic sense of self), and enjoying being goofy in public. It is liberating to dance how and where I want. The world is my audience!

I am keeping track of my home workouts via instagram, at Flat_and_Fit. In fact, I have broken my insta accounts into three, Art where you will find my latest makings and Breast Cancer Advocacy too. That way, I can separate my social media personae and you can follow those that interest you. 

In the meantime, I have been printing a bunch of Fleur de Lis prints, while also swatching a new color triangle from Playful Fabric Printing. 

 

Zine Making, what? why?

A Zine is a short & sweet version of a magazine. This printed material is often made by individuals, be they artists, activists, enthusiasts, fans or groups. These booklets are traditionally created by way of photocopy machines, an easily accessible and generally inexpensive means of printing.
On March 31 of this year, I went to a Feminist Zine Festival held at Bernard College in NYC. The Zines at this event ranged from 4-12$, more or less. I was so excited about what I might learn and whose Zines I would collect, I arrived early.

I am glad that I did because I was able to nab the brightly colored Zine named ‘Making Your Mark’ at upper right, in the photo above. That Zine is subtitled, ‘Women, Queer & Gender Non-Conforming Tattoo Artists in their Own Words’. It was printed under then Diaspora Savant Press. But I purchased Zines from many interesting people on topics like body positivity, breast cancer, trans poetry, and penpal Zines for incarcerated women and gender non-conforming people.

Then, I got bit by the bug!

I buckled down and began creating a Zine of my own, and I am calling it, The Motif Maker’s Zine.

Of course my Zine needs to be an artful exploration of motif, textile design and printing. I am drawing and lettering the entire Zine myself and I plan to release three at once, ASAP. I have two Zines complete and have started a third! I find I like communicating by way of drawings and written word. I like the format and I hope you do too.

So, please stay tuned. This will be fun.