Screen-printing with Susanne Khouri

What is screen-printing and what can you do with it?
It is a technique of printing a sharp-edged image on a surface with a hand held screen. With this you can create personalised T-shirts, your own fabric design, greeting cards, or fabulous artworks. It is fun and very easy.

You will learn how to mix and apply printing inks on paper and fabric. A variety of printing processes will be explored hands-on, all in an encouraging and user-friendly environment.
By the end of the course you will know how to do your own screen printing at home.

Use of screens, inks (various additional chemicals), squeegees and paper is included in the course fee.

Max. 8 students
Price: $260
Time: 8 sessions
Thursday morning 9.30-12.30

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Here are some extracts from the recent forum held at the Lake House Arts Centre14 December 2008.

Panel speakers as below. Forum chaired by professor Carole Shepheard.

Steven Lovett, artist and educator at Manukau School of Visual Art.

It is important that your work has a connection with the wider issues in society, social, cultural, political and/or economical, and that it somehow engages. Can be beautiful not boring.

Familiarize yourself with the history of printmaking because we are part of that history and implicated in it. Read for example the essays by Walter Benjamin (Google).

Look into the idea of sending your work overseas. Better recognition than in NZ.

The pendulum will swing back from machine made to the hand made. The recognition of the seductiveness of the surface of the handmade print, especially in these times of the commercial printing machine.

Tracey Williams, artist and educator at Elam school of fine arts in Auckland.

We as printmakers need to look beyond the world of print at the multi disciplinary environment of art-making, become aware of what is happening in the art world and take part of the wider conversation in art.

In art schools, a restructuring of syllabus has resulted in that students are neither taught history nor process. There is a lack of understanding of all processes and ideas. There needs to be a learning of the methodology with which to articulate ideas. A language to express. Print is not seen as a valid methodology. Print artists chose to use print as a way to express what they want to say.

Dan Welden, master printmaker and educator, visitor to NZ.

The importance of educating young and old so that when they are about to buy as an adult, they have a knowledge of print. Print fairs part of that education program. Get out of your own area to a place far away from home to show your work. Organize events in which artists get together. Hire a big hall, gather presses and have top artists working together to show what they are doing. Think up events which will encourage galleries to take on print.

Deborah White, owner of the gallery White Space in Auckland.

Works need to be vibrant and controversial and have an impact on the viewer. Printmakers are too involved in the process and the image can be overlooked. Gallery economics such as high rental demands large, expensive and easy to sell paintings on canvas. More courses for printmakers to break barriers. Encourage art competitions. Paradoxically works are getting smaller as a reaction to the large works.