Screen Test: My Weekend At Leicester Print Workshop

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016

I was never much of a printmaker, - but doing something about that is one of my stated objectives for 2016.  Thus, I recently attended the rather splendid Leicester Print Workshop for a weekend ‘Introduction To Screen Printing’ course; and very rewarding it was too.

Leicester Print Workshop, February 2016

In all honesty, I wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the basic principles of screen printing, - having dabbled with it at various points over the years.  Like most Art students of my vintage, I encountered it on my Foundation Course, and during my first Degree Year, - albeit in a somewhat superficial manner.  I had even done a little bit during my childhood, via a family-focused evening class.  However, none of this had ever produced much of any real quality, and at no point did I ever feel like I really got to grips with either the technicalities or the creative potential of the medium.

Leicester Print Workshop, February 2016

This time round, I’m hoping to build up a little more momentum, - not least because I now have certain specific goals in mind relating to my ongoing artwork.  Whilst producing self-contained prints as statements in their own right may certainly become part of this, I also have ambitions to translate work from other media, (such as painting, collage, photography, etc.), into prints, and also for them to become potential raw material for further work, in turn.  The idea is to try to arrive at a kind of image-generating continuum, in which images evolve out of each other, - taking different forms as they do so.  This idea definitely stems from the work by artists such as Christopher Wool, Albert Oehlen, etc. which impressed me on viewing Tate Modern’s ‘Painting After Technology’ display, last year.  Another possibility is the combination of print with paintiong or other mixed media, as in the work of Robert Rauchenberg, for instance.

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016

Anyway, before any of that can happen, the main aim is to reacquaint myself with the technicalities of the process, and with modern methods of translating imagery, creating stencils, and so on.  Of particular interest to me is the production of stencils photographically, - something which was dealt with thoroughly early in the weekend.  In fact, the whole course was very instructive, and Course Tutor, Nick Mobbs is clearly an accomplished printer and a practicing artist in his own right.  He was able to pass on a wealth of knowledge in ‘correct’ technique and good practice, as well as some of the quick fixes and on-the-fly remedies one often needs whenever any degree of technical process is involved.  It’s worth noting that the level of experienced technical support was pretty impressive too.

In fact, the general set-up was impressive all round.  Leicester Print Workshop is a well-established institution, and has gained an admirable reputation over the years.  However, it recently relocated to larger, newly renovated premises in Leicester’s so-called Cultural Quarter, and now has the space, light and facilities it deserves.  It’s possible to view the Cultural Quarter project as a slightly undercooked, missed opportunity in some respects, but if it is to become the kind of buzzy, creative hub its planners originally envisaged, another engine of actual, dirt-under-the-nails practice can only help, in my view.

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016

Anyway, the images on here show some of the results of my weekend’s labour.  It’s pretty obvious that my own sticking point was around the registration of multi-coloured, layered prints, but Nick was able to impart various techniques for improving matters in this respect, and I’m confident I could make a better fist of it, next time round.  The images themselves were envisaged as non-precious practice pieces, although they do have some connection with my general concerns, both past and present.  I’m hoping that, the next time I set up to print, it will be something even more directly related to my current ideas, and that it will be sooner than later.

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016

I’m always going to be drawn to the glitchy and the imperfect, and I’m pretty happy to capitalise on faults or fortuitous accidents, and to recycle my ‘failures’, these days.  However, I feel that, with continuing practice, I can now produce a technically successful screen print when required.  It’s always tempting to be seduced by the more Warholian end of the medium but, as Nick pointed out, the printers at The Factory knew how to print correctly when required, and all those grungy imperfections were deliberate stylistic affectations in reality.

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016

One aspect that certainly did chime with my current preoccupations was the ability to produce numerous variations of the same theme or motif by simply changing colours, ink transparency or the order in which they are laid down, - even as a print run is in progress.  I’ll leave seamless mechanical repetition to the more commercially minded - for now, at least.

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016

Untitled Practice Piece, Screen Print, 18 cm X 18 cm, 2016