It’s been gorgeous weather lately, which gives everyone even more reason to be out and about. In June, our Studio team has been busy as ever, not just enjoying the sun with the rest of us, but exploring creative workshops and discovering new exhibitions to go to.
Here’s what Michèle has been doing…
I’ll be honest, screen printing isn’t something I have been able to do in my time as a designer! So when I heard about a screen printing workshop in Dalston, I was excited. Before attending we had some homework – I had to choose an illustration or image to screen print. It might sound easy, but it’s not. I had little screen printing knowledge but wanted to choose the right image for the print to ensure the highest quality result. At the workshop, I was able to choose a suitable final image from my pre-selection of what felt like thousands. The image was turned black and white and burned onto a screen for printing.
Then we were taught about the history of screen printing, how it works, the different screens and methods of printing on different materials. We also saw some examples of good and bad examples of screen prints. A number of young people were working on professional screen print projects during our workshop. It was fascinating to see. It’s not often you get to see professionals working on live projects as you sit there learning!
After running through the process and seeing it in action, we got our own screens ready. We went into a dark room lit with a red bulb to add emulsion to our screens. This what your artwork gets burned into once the emulsion dries. We set up the screens on tables, kept in place with clamps, to push the paint through onto the paper. We used the same screen over and over again until the project was done.
It was a great day in a fun environment, and I was able to take six prints home as a memento of the day – have a look at my screen print on our Studio Instagram page @our_studiogram. By doing the workshop I can now go on to become a member of Print Club London, and I have another tool in the box when it comes to design ideas now – I’m looking forward to speaking to clients about how screen printing can be used in their design work!