Category: Printing

with Ben Etten
Saturday, September 21; 10am–4pm and Sunday, September 22; 10am–1pm CT

Get familiar with MCBA’s screen printing studio and practice the photo emulsion process, from positive creation and screen coating to exposure and reclaiming. Each participant will complete an edition of multi-layered screen prints and come away from the workshop with the confidence to work independently at MCBA’s Screen Print Labs.

Create your design positives using hand-drawn artwork and/or cut paper stencils. Bring your sketches and ideas to the workshop. Final designs should fit on a letter-sized sheet of paper (maximum width 8.5 inches) and may include up to two colors. Continue reading “Introduction to Screen Printing: September”

with Leah Klister
Saturday, September 21; 10am–4pm CT

This in-person letterpress workshop offers an introduction to MCBA’s print studio—including key equipment, tools, and terminology—in addition to an opportunity to experience the satisfaction of printing a message through the hands-on process of letterpress printing. Get to know MCBA’s wood type collection and learn beginning typesetting with wood type. Learn the basics of working with a flatbed cylinder press, including operation, safety, and care while building skills using the equipment with support from a teaching artist. In pairs, choose a text (three to five words) and print your own small edition of posters on a Vandercook press.  Continue reading “Letterpress 1: Printing Basics (September)”

with Ben Etten
Thursdays: September 26, October 10, 24; 6–9pm CT

Have an idea for a print but not sure where to start? Stuck in the middle of a project and in need of help? Or, are you interested in taking your screen printing skills to the next level? Join this unique in-person workshop designed for screen printers with introductory-level experience and a desire to create an independent project with guidance.

As a group, we’ll go in-depth on design, registration, editioning, and troubleshooting through discussion, examples, and demonstrations. We’ll help each participant apply those topics to individual projects. The goal is to come away from the workshop with the skills and techniques needed to take your printing to the next level in a supportive community of fellow printers. It’s likely that you will also come away with some cool new prints! So bring your new ideas, bring your half-finished projects, bring your troubleshooting questions, and we will work through them together. Continue reading “Screen Print: Guided Projects”

with Bethany Rahn
Thursdays: October 10 & 17; 6–9pm CT

This in-person letterpress workshop focuses on setting metal type and building familiarity with printing on the Vandercook press. Learn how to navigate MCBA’s type collection, how type is stored and organized, and how to arrange it in a composing stick for setting a text. Training will be provided on line justification, kerning (space between letters and words), and methods for holding type together (or “locking up” a form) for printing. Procedures for maintaining a community type collection and print studio will also be covered, in addition to a review of basic press operation, care, and safety. This workshop is an excellent refresher and opportunity to get reacquainted with MCBA’s presses and print studio. Continue reading “Letterpress 2: Setting Type (October)”

with Bethany Rahn
Saturday, October 19; 10am–4pm CT

This in-person letterpress workshop offers an introduction to MCBA’s print studio—including key equipment, tools, and terminology—in addition to an opportunity to experience the satisfaction of printing a message through the hands-on process of letterpress printing. Get to know MCBA’s wood type collection and learn beginning typesetting with wood type. Learn the basics of working with a flatbed cylinder press, including operation, safety, and care while building skills using the equipment with support from a teaching artist. In pairs, choose a text (three to five words) and print your own small edition of posters on a Vandercook press.  Continue reading “Letterpress 1: Printing Basics (October)”