DIY Printmaking
- West End Style
by Julia Swarbrick
Explore the art of printmaking at home with a range of DIY printmaking techniques that will get you started without a big budget. Some of the materials we will be using you will already have at home. The rest you should be able to find easily in the local area. I will be showing you a range of techniques including how to reproduce your drawings with the magic of cola lithography and how to make your own silk screen prints. The
techniques are really versatile and will include printing on paper, card and textile.
We will be taking Morecambe’s West End as a source of inspiration for all the artwork; from the local wildlife to the fetes and festivals people enjoy. Practice the step by step instructions and discover your inner artist. Watch the videos and have a go yourself. I will give you all the instructions you need.
My aspiration is that these tutorials will encourage you to start making artwork of your own and share ideas with friends and neighbours. The work you make can be shared online and maybe as the lockdown situation eases you will be inspired to put it in an exhibition. It would be great to see the work people make. While we can’t have an exhibition at the moment, you might want to organise print swaps with a friend or neighbour or put your artwork in the window celebrating the neighbourhood and its creativity.
Contact me on:
Email: jswarbie@swarbiearts.co.uk
Website: www.swarbiearts.co.uk
Instagram: @swarbrickjulia OR @adventures_in_printmaking
Cola Lithography
Kitchen Lithography is an exciting mixture of Art and Science. It’s a way to create your own Lithographic prints straight from your drawings without the need for noxious chemicals. Using ordinary cola you will learn a single hand drawn image into multiple prints. Produce a set of postcards or artwork to share.
download instruction sheet
Block Printing
Block Printing encompasses all kinds of printing from letterpress to linocut. It’s possible to make printing blocks without the need for special cutting tools or specialist equipment. In this session I show you how to make several different stamps that you can use for making repeat pattern and creating your own artwork.
download instruction sheet
Silk Screen
This is an instruction to Silk Screen using DIY approaches. The idea is to introduce you to silk screen printing with a minimal budget and materials that are easy to recycle including things you may already have at home. We will be
using Acrylic paint to print with as this is easy to wash up with soap and water.
download instruction sheet
Mono Printing
Monoprinting is fun, playful and great for arty experimentation. There are many different ways of monoprinting. I am going to show you two techniques to get
started. With monoprinting each print is unique but you can easily make a whole gallery of prints in a short space of time. How long or short a time you spend making the prints is argely up to you but it also depends on the paint or printing
ink you work with. I recommend using oil based paint; the cheap stuff is fine for experimenting with. You can use acrylic paint instead but it may dry faster than you want. See my notes at the end on acrylic retarder.