Screen Printing with Monotype

A screen print (also referred to as a serigraph or silk screen) is a planographic method of printmaking using stencil techniques and is utilised for both fine art reproduction on to paper and surface textile printing. Using photographic techniques, explore the unique painterly effect of monotype with screen printing in this one-day course. Suitable for beginners.

What will you learn?

The key concept and success to this technique (in combination with the concept of the monoprint) is in its spontaneity and fluidity.

Screen printing, in its most basic form, utilises block stencils to push ink or dye through a fine woven mesh with a squeegee to achieve the desired image. Layers of colour can then be built up with multiple stencils, allowing the ink to dry on the surface (on either paper or fabric) between layers.

This technique can trace it’s origins back to Europe, at the time of the Crusades, when red crosses were sometimes stencilled onto robes by printing through a fine cloth stretched, over iron hoops. This method offers a very painted and illustrated approach to a process usually perceived as being predominantly block based.

Monoprints of this nature can often be used as stand-alone prints or in conjunction with other serigraphy processes, once the initial monoprint is complete.

Topics covered:

• A brief history of screen printing and its terminology
• Paper types, tools and materials in printmaking
• How to produce your own prints using the methods covered
• How to sign and edition your prints