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COMMUNITY
Swansea Print
Workshop has a great deal of experience of working with all sorts of
groups and organisations. In 2001 we were awarded an Arts For All grant
to fund PrintWorks, a three year project aimed at raising the profile of
printmaking in the community and providing entry level workshops for a
wide range of groups, including ethnic minorities, young people and
people with special needs. This ambitious project saw hundreds of people
from all walks of life introduced to printmaking for the first time and
has helped us to develop a great many activities suitable for all ages,
abilities and venues.
If you are interested
in discussing a project or simply wish to make an enquiry please
contact Swansea Print Workshop :
Workshops
Below are list of
workshops and activities that we offer to community groups:
Monoprint
Monoprint involves
the application of printing inks to a non-porous surface such as
plastic, which is then printed off. By its very nature, monoprint
offers almost limitless potential to experiment with colour and mark
making and can be printed over a variety of pre-prepared substrates.
Monoprints can be printed with or without a
press and great results can
be achieved without the need for specialist equipment. For this reason,
it is the ideal medium through which to introduce printmaking to
children. It offers students and printmakers alike a very simple and
direct way to produce an image and print it on to paper.
Working with
Stamps
Using stamps to print
with is probably the most familiar printmaking process that there is.
Stamps can be made from a variety of materials, including camping mat
foam, PVA sealed card, insulation board, thick glue and even objects
such as bottle tops, ring-pulls or food packaging. It offers children
the chance to experiment with a wide variety of materials and textures
and to explore shapes and patterns with freedom and inventiveness.
Collagraph
The word
collagraph
comes from collage. It is a process that involves building a collage of
textures on a cardboard base using a variety of materials. The
plate is
then sealed and can be inked and printed to produce an image. The
impressive prints produced by this technique belie the simplicity of the
method.
Collagraph is
suitable for all ages and abilities as it is a highly accessible form of
printmaking. It relies only on paper, card and PVA glue to make the
printing plate and can be printed without the need for a press, using
multiple colours applied with foam rollers and hand pressure using a
simple wooden spoon.
Press-Print
Not to be confused
with the polystyrene sheets used by many schools, the press-print
process is done using plastic foam board, a material more often used in
the sign industry. Foam board can be drawn into with a biro to create a
shallow relief deep enough to print from. No cutting is required and it
is easy to trace/press an image directly on to the block.
Drypoint
Drypoint is a type of
etching that does not require the use of acid. Instead it involves
inscribing a line into the surface of metal or plastic to create a
positive drawn image from which to print. Ink is then worked into the
lines, and the plate is wiped clean where areas have been left unmarked.
An etching press is essential for this process because in order to print
from the inked plate, paper must be embossed into the surface to enable
it to make contact with the inks in the lines. This technique is known
as intaglio printing and has been used by many renowned artists down the
ages, for example Goya, Rembrandt and Picasso to name but a few.
Screen Printing
Screenprint is a stencil based printmaking technique. Stencils are attached to a screen mesh, through which inks are squeezed with a squeegee. Because it does not involve any form of pressing, screen prints can be made on more or less anything flat. This means that in screen print, more than in any other medium, a print can be applied to the widest variety of substrates, including, paper, card, textiles, glass, plastic and metal. Excellent results are achieved by printing over pre-prepared backgrounds such as collages or prints.
Swansea
Print Workshop is a not for profit
company limited by guarantee
Companies House No 4078671: 19a Clarence Street Swansea SA1 3QR
© swansea print workshop 2006