T-shirts & Totebags Screenprinting Workshop

Convert your own drawing or design to a collection of hand-printed wearable items in this energetic and informative one-day workshop. Printing an assortment of t-shirts or totebags is practical, fun and incredibly gratifying!

Students will bring to the workshops with a bold black and white drawing, a high-contrast photo, or a digital design. While .AI or .PSD files are great, we welcome students to bring anything from text typed in Microsoft Word to photocopies. After students refine the artwork (as needed) to be “print-ready”, student will use a pre-coated photographic screen and mix their own custom ink color. Everyone should bring five items of their choosing to print. As long as they are fabric and flat, we can help you print on it! Shirts, tote bags, tea towels, bandanas, and thrift store jean jackets will all work great. Leave with a sample for an Etsy store, a surprise gift for a friend, or an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags!

Etching Tester & Refresher

Etching (a type of Intaglio printing) is printmaking process in which marks are scratched or etched into a metal plate. Using a fine point needle, artists can draw directly on plate through a thin protective ground to expose copper. With the help of a chemical bath, these marks are etched into the metal with a remarkable amount of detail. The resulting print can look similar to pen and ink drawings but also capture a vast array of marks and tones. Artists can work with great precision or work expressively and spontaneously.

In the first three hours of the workshop, students will complete a simple small-scale project, moving through each step of the etching process from plate preparation through printing. In the last two hours, students new to the medium are welcome to stay and create additional prints of their image. Students with prior experience are encouraged to use the last hours to address questions related to setting up the press, soft ground, step etching, etc.

This workshop is designed to let people test out a new craft or refresh skills from a prior class. Authorization can be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Students who want to learn the full range of what etching can do should enroll in our 8-week Etching & Intaglio Printmaking class.

Risography 101 (June)

The Risograph is an automated duplicator from Japan that efficiently produces offset-like prints in a variety of saturated colors. Though not originally intended for artistic application, the machine has recently gained traction (and notoriety) in small-press culture for its distinct footprint and efficiently as well as being rather finicky.

This workshop will walk students through the fundamentals of risograph printing for making books and fine art prints, and familiarize students with techniques to best reproduce their imagery. Students will become acquainted with the mechanics of the printer and learn basic maintenance, including how to change the master roll and a drum’s ink tube. Lastly, students will learn how to best design for the risograph, taking into consideration ink drying time, ink density, paper options, registration, and patience. Everyone will leave with a three-color collaborative print produced throughout the workshop and authorization to continue making risograph prints at Spudnik Press Cooperative.

Polymer & Paper Lithography

Plate lithography is a variation of traditional lithography and relies on the hydrophobic (water-fearing) and hydrophilic (water-loving) properties of a sheet of plastic or paper. Plate lithography offers an immediate and non-toxic printing process that can incorporate photography, digital designs and hand drawn illustrations. This process is low-cost, versatile, and playful process ripe for experimentation.

Plates can be made using an everyday laser printer, then reworked or added to with a variety of tools like ballpoint pens, crayons and markers. The plate is then carefully inks with oil-based ink and ran through a press.

In this workshop, students will learn both monoprinting techniques and how make an edition with polyester plates. Digital file preparation will be taught as it is necessary for working with photos. However these processes also lend themselves to hand drawn imagery, and the computer can be bypassed completely with the use of a photocopier.

By the end of the workshop, students will produce two images using a mix of techniques on 11” x 15” paper. First time printers as well as artists with photography and drawing experience are both well-suited for this workshop.

Screenprinting Explorations (July)

Most people are fans of screenprinting whether they know it or not. Screenprinting is an art form known for its bold graphics and versatility. A close cousin of stenciling, screenprinting is easy to learn, yet has many facets to explore and master. Our eight-week class provides adequate time for new printers to complete a range of projects on paper and fabric, gradually increasing in complexity and nuance. With the ongoing support of a pro to help trouble-shoot along the way, students will be familiar with dark room exposure, mesh count, screen tension, ink consistency, and registration.

In addition to developing A+ printing skills, this class will help students develop their imagery, be it hand-drawn illustration or digital files, to successfully translate to print. By the end of the class, students will know their way around the print shop, and be well equipped to continue printing independently at Spudnik Press Cooperative.

Bookbinding for Comics and Zines

This workshop focuses on styles of bookbinding that are low-cost yet dynamic, and can be used to bind a full edition of comics or zines. Students will complete a variety of “b-stitch” bindings using a needle and thread as well as a perfect bound book using our thermal binder. Attendees will also learn a more involved binding, Japanese stab binding, which can turn an every day comic into a limited edition collectible.

The properties of each binding variation and the possibilities for image and text layout will be addressed to help artists choose the right binding for the project. To put final professional touches on their books, students will learn to trim their books with our guillotines.

Six 4” x 5.5” sample books will be produced during class. Through these projects, students will hone their folding, cutting, gluing, and hand-sewing skills. There are unlimited variations to the basic bookbinding techniques, so attendees will be able to adapt these foundational skills to their own comic and zine projects. Students will graduate authorized to attend Open Studio to use our bookbinding supplies, guillotines, and thermal binder.

T-shirts & Totebags Screenprinting Workshop (July)

Convert your own drawing or design to a collection of hand-printed wearable items in this energetic and informative one-day workshop. Printing an assortment of t-shirts or totebags is practical, fun and incredibly gratifying!

 Students will bring to the workshops with a bold black and white drawing, a high-contrast photo, or a digital design. While .AI or .PSD files are great, we welcome students to bring anything from text typed in Microsoft Word to photocopies. After students refine the artwork (as needed) to be “print-ready”, student will use a pre-coated photographic screen and mix their own custom ink color. Everyone should bring five items of their choosing to print. As long as they are fabric and flat, we can help you print on it! Shirts, tote bags, tea towels, bandanas, and thrift store jean jackets will all work great. Leave with a sample for an Etsy store, a surprise gift for a friend, or an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags!

Risography 101 (July)

The Risograph is an automated duplicator from Japan that efficiently produces offset-like prints in a variety of saturated colors. Though not originally intended for artistic application, the machine has recently gained traction (and notoriety) in small-press culture for its distinct footprint and efficiently as well as being rather finicky.

This workshop will walk students through the fundamentals of risograph printing for making books and fine art prints, and familiarize students with techniques to best reproduce their imagery. Students will become acquainted with the mechanics of the printer and learn basic maintenance, including how to change the master roll and a drum’s ink tube. Lastly, students will learn how to best design for the risograph, taking into consideration ink drying time, ink density, paper options, registration, and patience. Everyone will leave with a three-color collaborative print produced throughout the workshop and authorization to continue making risograph prints at Spudnik Press Cooperative.

Photopolymer Intaglio

Photopolymer Intaglio plates can capture every nuance of a continuous tone photograph, as well as direct drawing on transparent media. Using digital or handmade positives in combination with an aquatint screen, artists can easily simulate the look and feel of classic copperplate photogravure, montage, a variety of drawing techniques, or experiment with new directions. This class will benefit photographers and print artists looking to extend the tonal and textural possibilities of their artwork.

Students will work on two to three plates to create a small body of prints between 5” x 7” and 7.5” x 10”. Through these projects, students will test out tools and materials to determine optimum exposure and ink density for various approaches to image making, film output and plate processes. During the printing portion of the class, students will refine their inking and plate wiping techniques for controlled and consistent printing from intaglio plates.

Printmaking Foundations

For anyone who wants to be creative through printmaking, our Foundations class introduces first time printers to the wide variety of resources and equipment at Spudnik Press Cooperative. Students will experiment with three unique printmaking processes throughout the six weeks. With each printing process inducing its own aesthetic, this class offers abundant opportunities to elevate sketches and designs through print and to understand the basic concepts that bridge the many types of printmaking at our studio.

Screenprinting is a form of stencil making that is used to print fine art as well as posters, cards, t-shirts, and more. Relief prints are created by carving an image into wood or linoleum, adding ink to the surface, and transferring the inked image onto paper. Etching, also known as Intaglio [in-tal-yoh], is a family of printing techniques in which the image is incised into a metal plate. Artist can scratch into plates with needles, or can draw through a ground and etch drawings into a plate.

Together, these processes range from experimental to exacting, bold to subdued, and unpredictable to calculated and can open new possibilities for artists, writers, and folks who want to learn a new way to make art. Printmaking Foundations can act as either a general introduction to everything Spudnik has to offer, or a refresher course for artists who have previous experience.

Relief Tester & Refresher

We invite you to try you hand at a new craft or to refresh dormant printmaking skills. Relief printmaking (aka block printing) is graphic, versatile, and timeless. It can be as simple as geometric stamps used to create repeat patterns or as nuanced and complex as your ambitions. In this workshop, students will plan, carve, and print from a 4” x 6” linoleum block.

Students will learn how to visualize and create a design that will stylistically work well as a relief print. Students move through each step of the relief process from project planning to image transfer to how to select the right gouge, hold the gouge, and carving an image in reverse. Using ink, brayers, presses, and a variety of papers, everyone will produce an edition of prints from their block. Final prints can take the form of wall art or note cards.

Students with intermediate experience are encouraged to use the last hours to address questions related to setting up the press, multiple plate registration, planning more complex plates, even and consistent inking, etc.

Botany of Blue: Cyanotypes after Anna Atkins

In 1843, a botanist and photographer named Anna Atkins self-published her first book of cyanotype photograms. Anna Atkins, who is often cited as the first woman photographer, has inspired many with her collection of images that are both scientific and artistic. Cyanotypes are contact prints on light-sensitive paper, bridging photography and printmaking. UV light hitting treated paper triggers a chemical reaction that forms an intense blue dye. This workshop commemorates the work of Atkins by sharing the art form and process of creating cyanotypes.

After looking at historical examples of cyanotypes and the work of Anna Atkins, students in this workshop will explore the process through creating their own botanical prints. Working out of doors, students will use sunlight to make images from native flora, flower shop clippings and hand drawn transparencies. No previous experience necessary for this explorative, and playful process.