March 12| Relief Animation (4 Weeks)

This course is an exploration of the synthesis between animation and relief printmaking. Rather than editioning, students will produce a sequence of unique prints that will function as individual frames within a larger animation. Participants will then use Photoshop to transform their printed sequences into looping gifs. Throughout the course, students will mine the reductive and additive processes inherent to relief printmaking for their cinematic potential. Students will also gain experience with various elements of the traditional animation process, such as storyboarding and animatics. 

Over the span of 4 sessions, participants will receive personalized guidance towards completing their own ambitious, animated relief projects. This class also includes a voucher for free access to open studio hours, giving students the opportunity to conclude their project independently should they need extra time, even after the course’s completion. 

No experience in either medium is required to enroll.

This class culminates in authorization in relief printing at Spudnik. Further printing in relief can be explored through our Open Studio or Keyholder programs.

March 16 | Intaglio Explorations (4 Weeks)

Intaglio printmaking is a family of printing techniques developed (in part) by goldsmiths as a way to decorate armor, musical instruments and religious objects. These days, artists use a fine point needle to draw through a thin protective ground to expose copper. With the help of a chemical bath, marks and images are etched into the metal with a remarkable amount of detail.

Artists can also work more spontaneously by scratching gestures and images directly onto plates, transferring textures, or painting directly onto plates with resists and mordents. This highly versatile art form can produce a huge range of aesthetics.

Beginning with basic line etching, students will practice traditional plate making and printing. Through chine collé, aquatint, dry point, soft ground, and experimentation, students will add tonality, color, and varied marks to their images. No prior printing experience is needed, and students who do have intaglio experience can revisit the foundational skills with a more nuanced understanding of the process, and move on to independent projects.

Registration fee covers tuition and class materials, including consumable studio supplies. The basic tools (etching needle, scraper and burnisher) are available to use during class, but students may wish to acquire their own so that they can work outside of class.

March 27 | Sewn Book Forms (4 Weeks)

In 4 weekly sessions, students will focus on learning non-adhesive binding structures. Some of these binding styles will include complex sewing structures like coptic stitch, long stitch, and Japanese stab binding.

Students will learn the traditional version of these sewn bindings as well as new variations on the bindings to make more decorative and complicated designs. Participants will work with leather, paper, book cloth, and book board to survey the wide range of techniques in sewn bindings.

At the end of this workshop all students will have the ability to identify and create the most fundamental structures of sewn bindings, recognize the tools, history, and vocabulary around these bindings.

Students will complete four sample books: Two pamphlet stitch varieties, a perfect bound book, and a more elaborate Japanese stab binding.

In addition to learning hand skills, the class will discuss the history of chapbooks, their role in publishing over time, and ways to share and sell chapbooks. If you have writing or images you would like to promote, this is a great workshop to jump start your self-publishing!

March 29| Experiments in Etching

Intaglio printing is one of the oldest printing techniques in the world, dating back to the 15th century. Using the basic concepts of employing resists and acids to create surfaces that are inked and printed to create consistent images, artists for hundreds of years have used these principles to create dramatic light and dark tones, fine detail, and gestural mark making within their printed images. 

Students of all skill levels will learn through this class the basic mechanics of intaglio printing and will incorporate the use of resists, acids, and inks to etch lines and tones into copper and ultimately produce printed images. Utilizing these traditional concepts as a jumping off point, this class will explore experimental techniques and unconventional materials such as plaster printing, unconventional aquatint, sugar lift, and more. Each week will introduce a new concept, demonstration, and hands-on learning, culminating with a final project at the end of 4 weeks. Students will be encouraged to work independently between classes. 

Students completing this class will become authorized to print at Spudnik Press through our Open Studio program.

April 4| Experimental Zinemaking (4 Weeks)

The shapes and forms of books can be as wildly varied as their contents. A few simple concepts like folding, sewing, and gluing can be combined and stretched and iterated upon to make something wholly new but still recognizably “a book.”

Over 4 weeks, students will not only learn how to bind classic and experimental bookforms, but also how to use the Risograph to print the content of their books quickly and stylishly.

No experience is needed in either Risography or bookbinding, simply a creative spirit and a readiness to experiment.

In addition to gaining authorization to print independently at Spudnik Press, students will have access to Open Studios to work on their projects.

April 5 | Screenprinting on Fabric (4 Weeks)

This course introduces the full process of printing on fabric and garments, from coating and exposing screens to printing, reclaiming, and editioning. Students will print on flat fabric and apparel using both print tables and a T-shirt press, learning how images behave on different materials.

The class emphasizes hands-on practice, repeat printing, and registration, with time set aside for experimentation. Students will leave with a finished garment or small edition and the confidence to work independently in the screenprinting studio. Throughout the class, students are encouraged to bring their own fabric and garments to print on as well.

April 6 | Intro to Screenprinting (4 Weeks)

Screenprinting is an art form known for its bold graphics and versatility. It is an approachable art form, yet has many facets to explore and master. This foundational screenprinting class introduces all the basic skills to get someone new to the process up and running, creating art on both paper and fabric. 

A selection of projects will offer students the opportunity to produce prints from drawings, digital designs, and found or photographic imagery. Students will become familiar with the full process from selecting the right screen for the job, to dark room exposure, to mixing inks, to printing, to reclaiming the screens. With support from an experienced printer, students will practice printing and (equally important) troubleshooting.

By the end of this class, students will know their way around the print shop and be authorized to continue printing independently at Spudnik Press  through our Open Studio program.