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.

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!

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.

Screenprinting Refresher

This refresher workshop is for students with previous screenprinting experience, but are feeling out-of-practice or fuzzy regarding the finer points of the process. Students should have already completed a one-day workshop or full class, although it need not have been at Spudnik. We also welcome printers that would like support working through a particularly complex project or reoccurring printing issue.

 Spudnik Press staff will review an assortment of skills such as selecting the best mesh count, applying the perfect coat of photo emulsion, troubleshooting and diagnosing exposure and printing issues, ink mixing, registration, and screen reclamation. Equally as importantly, we will address how to consider these technical factors and limitations when designing a project for printing.

 During the workshops, each student will expose a screen, and work with peers to print a two-color image designed to hone nuanced printing skills. Students are welcome to bring specific questions about their next project.

 To help build printing confidence at Open Studio sessions, students are invited to return within the week (free of charge!) to put their freshly acquired knowledge to use. Through this workshop, students will not only brush up on old skills and become authorized to print at Spudnik, but are sure to walk away with new morsels of useful information regarding the art of screenprinting.

Clamshell Box Making Workshop

Clamshell boxes are ideal for housing a portfolio of prints, photos, artist books, memorabilia, or tools. This style of box features a durable tray that safely holds the contents in place with a drop spine and hinged lid that allows the box open like a book and lay flat. This sturdy little box can be scaled to accommodate just about any content.

During this workshop students will construct a 6″x8″ box and build comfort and confidence in a variety of bookbinding skills: measuring and cutting book board, using a glue brush, wrapping boards with paper and book cloth, and planning for hinges that allow the box to easily open and close.

Between steps, as glue dries, students will also create a “perfect bound” sketchbook to fit inside their handmade box.  To allow everyone to create a box that suits his or her style, we encourage students to bring along two sheets of decorative paper to cover their box with.

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!