[ I won't explain here exactly What screenprinting IS so if you are not sure, head over to good ol' wiki to check it out: screenprinting ]

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This Saturday I did a screenprinting workshop that was run by the South Bank Corporation. It was truly a great experience.

I have been interested in screenprinting for a while and some time ago I followed this tutorial by Craftgrrl. I liked that this was a cheap method and thought it would be a great start. Unfortunately, my skills at drawing and accurate use of glue (read: lack of them) resulted in a rather dodgy product. I didn’t have as awesome a result as her so I decided that one day I would like to try screenprinting with the proper screen and achieve a more professionally transferred picture. The materials cost though, so I kept putting if off.

Thanks to South Bank Corporation which created the Made with Love program, I had a chance to try more professional screenprinting for a reasonable price.

Made with Love is a series of pre-Christmas events and craft workshops for both kids and adults. They all happen at Brisbane’s South Bank, of course.  The screenprinting workshop was held at the Suncorp Piazza and was run by Belinda Sinclair, vice-president of Impress – Printmakers Studio in Brisbane and her helping hand, Lance.

We had at our disposal everything that is needed for screenprinting: screens with already transferred images, inks, squeegees and various materials that we could print on: calico bags, felt, paper and even wrapping tissue paper. I also loved the aprons with the Made with Love logo. Some of the attendees decided to screenprint some designs on them.

First, we gathered around Belinda and Lance who showed us the technique.  Then we could all go to the working tables and pick a screen with the design we would like to make (every screen had different designs). There were some really cool pictures and we had a chance to swap them around throughout the event.

The whole workshop lasted for around 2 hours. It went really quickly, of course. Belinda and Lance were very helpful, walking around the tables and giving advice and a helping hand.

Thanks to the workshop, I now know that it is a really enjoyable (even if messy) and rewarding craft. I won’t mind spending some money now on screenprinting gear. It’s simply worth it!

For those interested: there are two more sessions of the screenprinting workshop, tomorrow (Monday 12th December) and Wednesday (14th December). Details here. Tickets can be bought through that website.

Related links:
South Bank Corporation website
Made with Love at Visit South Bank website
Impress - Printmakers Studio Brisbane
Brisbane Institute of Arts offers printmaking courses