Modernism & Screenprinting

SCREENPRINTING is a printmaking process by which you push ink through a fine mesh screen. Blocking off some areas and allowing ink through other areas will create a sharp, graphic screenprinted image.
MATERIALS
  • Freezer Paper (for the screen stencil)
  • X-acto Knife and Cutting Mat (for cutting the freezer paper)
  • Screenprinting Ink (paper inks are water soluble or acrylic fabric ink)
  • Large popsicle sticks (for getting the ink out of the jars)
  • Squeegee (for pushing the ink through the screen)
  • Newsprint (for maintaining a clean work surface)
  • Printing Paper (for the artwork - should be smooth)
  • Empty Jars (for saving used ink)

Video Demonstration

Mid-Century Modernism, Hard-edge Geometric Abstraction, & the Bauhaus 
LUCIENNE DAY TEXTILE DESIGNER

Terms for the Period

  • Mid-century Modernism
  • Atomic Age
  • Minimalism
  • Geometric Abstraction
  • Hard-edge 
  • Bauhaus
  • Mid-century Textile Design

Artists

  • Alexander Gerard
  • Alexander Calder
  • Alfredo Volpi
  • Helen Lundeberg
  • Josef Albers
  • Kazimir Malevich
  • Lucienne Day
  • Maija Isola
  • Marian Mahler
  • Mario Carreño Morales
  • Mohamed Melehi
  • Ray Eames
  • Robert Stewart
  • Ruth Reeves
  • Sophie Taeuber-Arp
  • Wassily Kandinsky

Project Requirements

  • ​Inspired by modernism, use simple abstracted shapes to create a compelling two+ color compositions
  • Use repetition in some part of your composition to create visual unity 
  • Make a series of at least 6 prints; a minimum of 2 prints should be copies, a minimum of 4 prints should include different choices, at least 2 prints should have the screens used in a novel way (changed orientation, repeated one screen in another location, cropped parts, etc.) in addition to changes in color palettes
  • 6+ prints total : minimum of 2 color run
  • 2 prints are the same
  • 2 prints have altered compositions 
  • 4 prints have different color palettes from each other

​Any number can be on fabric or on paper

Advanced Printing - Changes within a Series

  • Use your two or three screens to make fundamentally different compositions by rotating or blocking off parts of the screen on different prints
  • Make different versions by repeating one screen in an alternate direction, cropping off parts with newsprint, and using different color palettes across the series of prints

Printing on T-shirts
  • Try not to have a rectangular frame around the edges of your composition - think of the whole shirt as your composition.

  • Two color run is the minimum
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  • Consider each side of the garment (front, back, sleeves, etc.)

Cutting your screens

You will need a sheet of freezer paper for each layer of color you want to apply to your print. It is easiest when the freezer paper is at least as big as the dimensions of the screen. Draw on the matte side, not the glossy size of the freezer paper. The glossy side will not stick to the screen.
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Measure the freezer paper to match the screen size
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Cut out the image area for the first color
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Cut out the image area for the second color

Screenprinting Set Up

LAYER: 1.NEWSPRINT  2. PAPER YOU WANT TO PRINT   3. FREEZER PAPER STENCIL   4. SCREEN  
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Use newsprint to keep your work area clean. Then, place the paper you want to print on.
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On top of the paper, place the freezer paper stencil
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The screen goes on top of the freezer paper
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Apply ink in a line at the top of the screen. The ink should not be applied directly over an open area (hole in the freezer paper), so if your image area goes to the top, add your ink on the tape.

 Pulling the Ink - Firm, Consistent Pressure (It should be a work out)

USE FIRM PRESSURE TO PULL THE INK DOWN THE SCREEN. HOLD THE SCREEN IN PLACE WITH ONE HAND, WHILE YOU HOLD THE SQUEEGEE IN THE OTHER HAND. TRY TO WIPE UP ALL OF THE INK WITH THE SQUEEGEE, USING VERY FIRM PRESSURE, BEFORE YOU LIFT UP THE SCREEN.
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Use the squeegee at a 45 degree angle to pull the ink down the screen.
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If you need to, add more ink down the screen and pull the ink again to make sure all of the image has transferred through to the paper underneath.
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Pull the ink in the same direction each time, making sure to hold the screen steady with your other hand. You should remove all of the excess ink from the screen.
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When you lift the screen, make sure the freezer paper stays attached to the screen. Carefully peel the artwork away from the screen. Do this slowly while paying attention to the freezer paper - making sure it doesn't stick to the paper, or rip.

WASH YOUR SCREEN BETWEEN RUNS (when you change freezer paper, wash)

WASH AND DRY YOUR SCREEN IF YOU ARE GOING TO PAUSE PRINTING FOR LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES. THE INK WILL DRY IN THE SCREEN AND RUIN THE SCREEN IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL. DO NOT LEAVE THE SCREEN WITH INK ON IT FOR LONGER THAN 15 MINUTES WITHOUT CONTINUOUS PRINTING.

Make different color decisions and adjustments in your suite of prints for each stencil

TRY ONE COLOR, SPLIT FOUNTAIN, TRANSPARENCY, MIXED COLORS, ETC. It is more fun if your runs are not all the same exact print each time.

Printing a Second Color on top of the First

If registration is important (the layers need to line up precisely) then you will want to start each layer with a registration guide and a registration board. This example does not need accurate registration, so all of those decisions are made by sight.