Time to get to grips with screenprinting at The Base Greenham

A reminder from the popular artists Berkshire Printmakers that their upcoming five-week screen printing on paper course at The Base Greeham still has places available.

The two-hour sessions - from 6.30pm to 8.30pm - start on Thursday, February 27 and booking is essential.

Local artists/educators Berkshire Printmakers are kick starting the year with a brand new 5 week screen printing on paper course at The Base. The programme is suitable for absolute beginners or a refresher for those with some screenprinting experience, the couple will take you step by step through the various techniques.

During the five weeks you will learn different silkscreen printing skills including how to use a squeegee, create a multilayered print. how to set up registration marks, the difference between optical and physical colour mixing and explore monoprinting using the screens.

Across the weeks you will be able to create and develop your own art work under the guidance of the two expert printmakers. All materials are included in the course, Berkshire Printmakers will bring their ever increasing library of stencils and plain and patterned photoscreens, as well as huge range of colourful waterbased inks, and of course squeegees.

Sarah Martinez of Berkshire Printmakers said: "We are really thrilled to be running this extended course at our local art centre, as it will give the students time to get to grips with the technique and to develop and build on skills each week. It will be fun and creative experience and by the end of the 5 weeks they will have a large body of work and hopefully will love the technique as much as we do."

Screen printing was made a Heritage Craft in 2023 and Berkshire Printmakers are members of the Heritage Craft Association. The technique of dragging ink across a mesh was originally invented By the Chinese in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD). It was made popular as an artform by the Pop artists of the 1960's, who took the technique from industry where it was used to print everything from newspapers, bill boards to t-shirts and appropriated it to create their own artwork - think Andy Warhol's Campbells soup can image or Marilyn Monroe.

The couple set up Berkshire Printmakers in 2023 after seeing the decline in the teaching of the technique in schools and arts venues. They take their screen printing workshops into schools, colleges, art centres and even festivals across the country. They have most recently taught at the prestigious private school Radley College and had a sell out workshop at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Sarah is currently developing a workshop with local ceramicist Rebecca Maynard using screenprinting to print on ceramics which they hope to offer locally in the autumn.

To contact Berkshire Printmakers directly email hello@berkshireprintmakers.com

https://thebasegreenham.co.uk