Printmaking Foundations (April)

For anyone who wants to be creative through printmaking, our foundations class introduces first time printers to the wide variety of printmaking processes, equipment, and resources at Spudnik Press Cooperative. Students will experiment with three unique types of printmaking 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. A relief print is made by carving an image into wood or linoleum with gauges, inking the surface, and transferring the image onto paper. Etching, also known as Intaglio [in-tal-yoh], is a family of printing techniques in which an image is incised into a metal plate. Artist can directly scratch into plates with needles, or they can draw through a ground and etch the image into a plate using a chemical.

Together, these processes range from experimental to exacting, bold to subdued, and unpredictable to calculated and can open new possibilities for artists, writers, and anyone who wants 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.