T-Shirts & Totebags Screenprinting Workshop (December 2019)

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 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 totebag!

For those who love this introduction to screenprinting, our 8-week Screenprinting Explorations class will round out your skills and allow you print independently through our Open Studio program!

This class typically fills 2+ weeks in advance. Early registration is suggested.

Screenprinting Explorations

Most people love a screenprint whether they know it or not. Known for its bold graphics and versatility, screenprints are a staple for many famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Shepard Fairey. Screenprinting is relatively easy to learn, yet has many facets for further exploration and mastery.

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 become familiar with dark room exposure, mesh count, screen tension, ink consistency, and registration.

In addition to developing A+ printing skills, this class will teach students how to build their imagery to best translate into the printed medium. 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.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

This class typically fills 2+ weeks in advance. Early registration is suggested.

Introduction to Letterpress Printing

This course is the perfect introduction to letterpress printing. Students will develop foundational skills by using a composing stick to hand set lines of types. From there, projects will introduce more technical considerations as well as creative approaches to printing. Students will learn to learn to lock-up type, set pressure, mix and modify ink and how to safely operate our machines. This class is great for students looking for the basic principles of letterpress printing and those who want additional experience with Vandercooks. This class is a prerequisite for Letterpress Printing 102.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

Risography 101

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 look 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 ink. 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.

While students gain authorization to continue making risograph prints at Spudnik Press Cooperative, attendees are encouraged to round out their riso know-how by taking a Risography 102 workshop and/or returning to use Open Studio shortly after taking the workshop.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

Paper Marbling Workshop

Paper Marbling is a design technique that has been used by paper artists since the 12^th century. Pigments are floated on a viscous water-based solution and carefully transferred to paper to produce mesmerizing patterning, similar to smooth marble. Marbled paper is art on its own, but it can also be used as book covers, end papers, and as a base for handmade prints.

In this workshop, students learn to prepare marbling baths and create marbling combs for a range of patterns on paper. Students will ultimately prepare pigments and pull their own paper. Every student will learn various marbling techniques including free hand and the application of stencils as a resist in order to produce 5 unique sheets of marbled paper.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

Risography 101

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 look 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 ink. 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.

While students gain authorization to continue making risograph prints at Spudnik Press Cooperative, attendees are encouraged to round out their riso know-how by taking a Risography 102 workshop and/or returning to use Open Studio shortly after taking the workshop.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

Concepts in Design: Analog to Digital

Explore the basic elements of design to create beautiful and conceptual works of art. In this course students will learn concepts of color theory and composition to create original designs. Students will then take those skills to explore file preparation, image separations, and bitmapping to export their designs in digital ways. This class is perfect for those who have ever felt some intimidation to working digitally. Student will leave this class with a refresher in design theory and the tools to turn their images from analog to digital.

Letterpress Valentines

Celebrate Saint Valentine by impressing your friends, family, and coworkers with a clever hand-printed valentine.

Making your own greeting card is a perfect foray into letterpress printing! Using our vintage collection of letterpress cuts and ornaments in combination with wood and metal type, participants will design and print their own unique statement on up to 20 cards. Students can come with a short phrase in mind, or see what ideas emerge while browsing through our many drawers of plates from the era of letterpress newspapers and ads.

Regardless of how romantic one feels about the holiday, a hand-made card is always a thrill to make and to receive!

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

Risography 102: Bring Your Own Files

Risography 102 reinforces the skills introduced in Riso 101. Each student will bring their own project to set-up and print during the workshop.

Best practices for imposition or layout for zines and publications will be reviewed as well as tips for color separation and digital file set-up. Smart file set up is step #1 to ensure smooth and efficient printing!

Then, through creating a small run of prints during the workshop, students will get a refresher on how to make masters from digital files, how to troubleshoot paper jams and other typical print errors, and how to replenish ink and masters. Lastly, students will have the opportunity to use our guillotines to trim their prints.

This workshop is limited to just four students to ensure that everyone can print their own imagery, log time operating the machine independently, and be authorized to use our guillotines.

Students should come ready with a 2-3 color project–either a single-sided print to be completed in the workshop or a longer project to be finished during open studio. While PDF files are great, students are welcome to bring anything from text typed in Microsoft Word to photocopies.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

Letterpress Pressure Prints

The process of pressure printing combining stencils and low-relief collages with letterpress printing to make textural images reminiscent of rubbings and collagraphs. Variation in the thickness of cut paper, string, plants, netting and other relatively two-dimensional items effect the amount of ink transferred by the cylinder of the press to the paper and leave a rich nuanced image on the page.

Students will work individually and collectively to create a variety of stencils, then experiment with the stencils, composition and the printing process to tell a story, create a mood, or build an illustration. Students will also be able to experiment with hand inking to create one-of-a-kind compositions. Throughout the workshop, students will create a series of up to 10 multi-layered monotypes as big as 19” x 25”!

For the technically inclined, the class will also address how to adjust cylinder packing and form height to achieve various printed results and to read and use a micrometer. Artists and illustrators who like to work with monoprinting, stencils, or cut paper, will benefit from this class, as well as letterpress printers, both new and experienced.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.

T-Shirts & Tote Bags Screenprinting Workshop

Convert your drawing or design into the highlight of your very own wearable item in this energetic one-day workshop.

Students will bring a bold black and white drawing, high-contrast photo, or digital. While .AI or .PSD files are great, we welcome students to bring anything from text typed in Microsoft Word to photocopies. After students refine their designs with the assistance of a professional teaching artist, students will transfer their image to a pre-coated photographic screen and mix their own custom colors. Everyone should bring five flat, fabric items of their choosing on which to print. Examples of acceptable items include shirts, tote bags, tea towels, bandanas, and even thrift store jean jackets. Leave with a sample for an Etsy store, a surprise gift for a friend, or an eco-friendly tote bag!

For those who love this introduction to screenprinting, our 8-week Screenprinting Explorations class will round out your skills and allow you print independently through our Open Studio program!

This class typically fills 2+ weeks in advance. Early registration is suggested.

Techniques in Monoprinting

Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that favors organic, gestural, textural, and ephemeral marks and imagery. This process is incredibly immediate, playful, and a multi-faceted type of printmaking, and therefore well suited to first time printers and artists who typically work with paint, mixed media, and sculpture. These prints usually begin from a sheet of plexiglass as the foundation. Through working additively and reductively with ink, crayons, water or solvents, and stencils, students can capture a large range of aesthetics from subtle tonality to gritty textures to minimal formal forms.

Throughout the class, students will develop new ways to build images while learning about the properties of ink, paper, pressure, and how they interact to create a broad range of aesthetic possibilities. Printing techniques will include collage, multiple plate printing, trace, stencil, ghost, additive, and reductive. Students will make many prints to learn and test these processes before moving on to a project that combines various methods and showcases a personal style or vision.

Please note that class fees cover tuition as well as many consumable studio supplies and most materials that students will use throughout the class or workshop. Please see student material list for additional supplies.