A few weeks ago I received an invitation to try a screen printing workshop at La Bourgeoise Sérigraphe with owner and graphic designer, Iris Sautier. I’ve long been intrigued by artworks created using this method (think Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe and Campbell Soup prints), but had always thought that it must be very complicated to undertake myself. Iris proved me wrong by introducing me to the process, walking me through each step and within just a few hours, lo and behold, I’d produced two original pieces of my very own!
How it works: choose an image that you want to print (it can be a graphic, a drawing, a logo or some text), then choose the support material you’ll print it on (paper, cardboard, wood, plastic, leather or fabric – any flat surface actually!) I chose to print our zurbaines logo on a couple of white tank tops that I picked up at Simons for about $10 each. Iris will show you how to print your image onto acetate and then you’ll expose that part onto the sensitized emulsion which is painted on a fine mesh screen. Once you wash away the exposed emulsion, you have your template! You then squeegee the ink across the screen and the image is transferred through the mesh to your support material. Lift up the screen and voilà! You just made art!
These workshops are an excellent opportunity to make some personalized gifts or promotional items. Learning from Iris is easy and fun – she’s a patient instructor and gives you ample opportunity to practice on other material before actually printing on your own product. The price of the class is well worth the end result because you’ll be taking home an original piece of hand-made art.
To get a better idea of the process, check out this video on screen printing at La Bourgeoise Sérigraphe (Iris is the petite blonde in the pink top):
La Bourgeoise Sérigraphe
5243 Berri, coin Boucher
Tél. 514 270 1129
(For reservations and pricing)
Find La Bourgeoise Sérigraphe here:
website | facebook | twitter
