Category: Adult Workshops

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Pre-Xerox Copier Technology + DIY Publishing

with Rich Dana
Saturday–Sunday, June 17 & 18; 10am–4pm CT

Before there was social media, even before photocopied zines, marginalized artists and writers found ways to publish their creations using stencil prints (mimeographs) and dye-transfer prints (hectographs). Developed for copying documents without the use of a printing press, these quick and cheap techniques have been used by outsider artists and poets, political dissidents, and underground publishers since the 1800s. This in-person workshop explores pre-Xerox copier technologies and how contemporary artists and writers can use them to publish small editions of zines, chapbooks, prints, and flyers. Continue reading “Pre-Xerox Copier Technology + DIY Publishing”

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Vietnamese Papermaking

with Veronica Pham
Saturday, June 17; 10am–4pm and Sunday, June 18; 1–4pm CT

Traditional papermaking in Vietnam dates back seventeen centuries; however, colonization, war, and rapid industrialization have rendered this ancient craft nearly extinct. Learn traditional Vietnamese papermaking techniques using the liềm seo (bamboo woven screen) and khung seo (two-part bamboo frame) in this in-person workshop. Various local plants like hemp, invasive bamboo, mulberry, and prairie grass will be used to showcase differences in fiber length and strength in sheet formation. Continue reading “Vietnamese Papermaking”

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Paper Beater Training: June 20

Tuesday, June 20; 6:30-7:30pm CT
Papermaking Experience Required

If you aren’t already trained to use our paper beaters, here is your opportunity! Through hands-on training you will learn the capabilities of each piece of MCBA’s paper beaters, and how to use them correctly and safely. Completion of this training will allow you to rent this equipment and use it independently. Studio Labs are not eligible for Certificate credit.
Continue reading “Paper Beater Training: June 20”

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Ink-Making from Ecology: Grounded in Place

with Hannah Chalew
Saturday, June 24; 10am–4pm CT

Explore ways to make art that allow you to connect and collaborate with your environment in this in-person workshop. Learn to make water-based ink with a range of materials from your neighborhood—rusty nails, soil, oak galls, remnants of morning coffee or tea, etc.–and come away with new inks and an understanding of how to find specific colors in your landscape and how to ethically harvest materials to make art. Different materials require different methods of curing, but most materials will be simmered on a stovetop and combined with binding materials, such as gum arabic, to hold it together. Participants are invited to bring ink-making materials to experiment with; we will also take a walk through MCBA’s neighborhood and gather ingredients to “ink-periment” with! Ink made in the workshop can be used for watercolor.
Continue reading “Ink-Making from Ecology: Grounded in Place”

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Sustainable Papermaking with Repurposed Paper and Plastic

with Hannah Chalew
Sunday, June 25; 10am–4pm CT

Learn how to make paper as a way of collaborating with your environment. In this in-person workshop, learn how to assemble a simple, inexpensive papermaking workspace and how to make paper with discarded material—old prints or drawings, newspaper, digital prints, and mail—from start to finish. Information will be shared on how to source basic equipment (available at thrift and hardware stores) needed for processing pulp, making sheets, and pressing the handmade paper. Then, we’ll use this DIY method to create paper from a variety of found papers. Participants are encouraged to bring in plastic waste from home or litter collected on the way to MCBA that can be shredded and included in our paper. Instruction will also cover the basics of pulp-painting with the various pulps made in the workshop and ways to create large sheets from a small mould. Continue reading “Sustainable Papermaking with Repurposed Paper and Plastic”

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Introduction to Marbling: July

with Heather RJ Fletcher
Saturday, July 1; 10am–4pm CT

Experience the magic of marbling firsthand with this single-day, in-person workshop! Learn the basic process of paper marbling with acrylics, including recipes for the various components of the process. Make four basic patterns (stones, moire/waved, git-gel, and nonpareil), explore seasonal color palettes, and take home your own marbled papers ready to be used in bookbinding and other arts. Participants will leave the workshop with the confidence to work independently at MCBA’s Marbling Labs. Continue reading “Introduction to Marbling: July”

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Printing for Preschoolers: Let’s Go Fishing

with Ellen Ferrari
Saturday, July 1; 10am–12pm CT

Catch a reading of Kevin Sherry’s I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. Print a lake with fish stamps and cookie cutters. Create creatures with letters F-I-S-H, etc. Safely make a series of cuts in a printing block to create a big ocean image and print with brayers and barens. Use a roller stamp for schools of fish. Last, try gyotaku, Japanese fish printing (with a rubber fish).

In this in-person workshop, preschoolers learn the basics of object and relief printing, work with tools like brayers and barens, and build fine motor skills using stamps and inking blocks. They also grow their interest in books and visual arts and feel pride as they engage in artmaking in a book arts studio regularly accessed by working artists. Ellen designed this workshop to meet preschoolers where they are both developmentally and in their interests. Continue reading “Printing for Preschoolers: Let’s Go Fishing”

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Alternative Printmaking at Home

with Rosae Reeder
Wednesdays: July 5, 12, 19; 5–8pm CT

This virtual printmaking workshop focuses on using accessible materials to make prints and embellish existing art projects. Explore several techniques including packing tape transfer, Matte Medium transfer, watercolor monoprint, and Gelli plate printing. All of these processes can be done safely at home without caustic materials, chemicals, or printing presses. After learning printing techniques, participants will construct a single-page book structure to experiment with creating simple artist’s books from prints. No prior bookbinding or printmaking experience is needed. Continue reading “Alternative Printmaking at Home”

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Hardcore Petal-Fold Book

with Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Thursday, July 6; 6–9pm CT

Inspired by origami folding techniques, learn how to make a 4 x 4 inch petal-fold book, covered with decorative Japanese paper. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore variations on this book form by modifying the shape of the page and by attaching the sheets in different configurations. The petal-fold book is a nonlinear book format that can be read from multiple vantage points depending on how the reader engages with it. This creates exciting opportunities when arranging text and imagery, which will be discussed further during this in-person workshop. Continue reading “Hardcore Petal-Fold Book”

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Screen Print Totes

with Michelle Lee Lagerroos and Kirsten Olson
Thursday, July 6; 6–9pm CT

Screen print your own unique design on a set of three tote bags! In this in-person workshop, discover how to screen print without a darkroom, using hand-cut wax paper stencils instead. Instruction will cover stencil design, hand-cutting techniques, fabric ink, and tips for printing on fabric. 

Bring your sketches and ideas to the workshop. Your design may be a way to get your message out into the world with themes around equality, justice, or anything close to your heart! Final designs should fit on a letter-sized sheet of paper (maximum width 8.5 inches). Simple designs are encouraged. Continue reading “Screen Print Totes”

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Cutting Equipment Orientation: July 11

Tuesday, July 11; 6:30-7:30pm CT

If you aren’t already trained to use our cutting equipment, here is your opportunity! Through hands-on training you will learn the capabilities of each piece of MCBA’s bindery cutting equipment, and how to use them correctly and safely. Completion of this training will allow you to rent this equipment and use it independently. This orientation was previously titled Cutting Equipment Training. Studio Labs are not eligible for Certificate credit.

Continue reading “Cutting Equipment Orientation: July 11”

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Art Practice Circle: July

with Laura Brown
Tuesday, July 11; 7–8:30pm CT

Art Practice Circle meets virtually and offers a friendly community space to listen and share about artmaking. The benefits of connecting with fellow makers are multiple: to inspire and encourage one another, to be an audience for one another’s work and creative process, and to move our work forward by talking about it out loud. This gathering will provide time for each person to share about their work—a particular work in progress, an idea that needs exploring, or a struggle with a specific work—as well as a conversation about what inspires us and strategies for tracking progress. Recommended for those who practice some form of book arts (book/paper/print) or related process (such as calligraphy, papercutting, marbling, etc.). Continue reading “Art Practice Circle: July”

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Screen Print Cards

with Michelle Lee Lagerroos and Kirsten Olson
Thursday, July 13; 6–9pm CT

Get familiar with MCBA’s screen printing studio and print your unique design on a set of cards! Learn the basics of screen printing using hand-drawn artwork, cut-paper stencils, and darkroom techniques. Instruction will cover design, screen exposure, ink, and printing on paper. Cards may be a call for action, kind words for a loved one, or anything else you think up! Bring your sketches and ideas to the workshop. Each participant will come away with ten cards approximately 4.25 x 5.5 inches in size. Continue reading “Screen Print Cards”

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Experimental Marbling Intensive

with Heather RJ Fletcher
Saturday–Sunday, July 15 & 16; 10am–4pm CT

Combine traditional marbling and painterly suminagashi techniques in this in-person marbling intensive. Use non-traditional tools to create landscapes, simple botanical pictures, and graphic abstract designs. Use the same techniques on the second day to over-marble some of the marbled papers from the previous day. This intensive workshop is perfect for those who want to step out of traditional pattern-making and explore ways to create unique decorative paper. Come away with several marbled papers and notes to continue experimenting in Marbling Labs or elsewhere after the workshop. Introduction to Marbling or equivalent experience is helpful, but not required. Continue reading “Experimental Marbling Intensive”

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Garden Monotypes

with Claudia Danielson and Mary Leikvold
Saturday, July 15; 10am–4pm CT

Calling all garden lovers! In this lively in-person workshop, transform plant material from your garden (or someone else’s) into beautiful one-of-a-kind prints. Monotypes offer artists the spontaneity of painting combined with the structure and deliberation of printmaking. The process is fun and freeing for everyone—from beginners to experienced artists. Learn the basics, then experiment and explore the medium under the guidance of two experienced printmakers and teachers. Come away from the workshop with a portfolio of prints celebrating the garden. Continue reading “Garden Monotypes”