Carleton students explored the versatile medium of silkscreening during the first workshop of its kind hosted by the Carleton Industrial Design Student Association (CIDSA) Nov. 12.
Students brought in their silkscreening designs to the Mackenzie Building studio and transferred them onto fabric. While many students worked with basic fabrics, workshop leader Madeleine Northey said there are many more possibilities.
“It’s used on T-shirts, and so many different other products, like cups and hats,” said Northey. “You can screen print on anything.”
Northey studied printmaking at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and specialized in screen printing.
Screen printing used to be the main method of sign-making and remains the most direct way to print, Northey said. It’s one process where the image doesn’t have to be reversed and the plastic mesh has ‘holes’ that give the ink structure. The thin coat of ink this process creates can ultimately be transferred onto anything from skateboards to Christmas cards, she said.
The workshop was originally planned as part of CIDSA’s T-shirt making competition but organizers decided to open it up to everyone, said Maya Prasasto, a second-year industrial design student who came up with the workshop.
The workshop will hopefully become an annual staple for CIDSA, Prasasto said.
Participants asked Northey questions, while sketching out and touching up their images of anything from snowflakes to animals on clear, acetate paper.
“I had this Saturday free and I wanted to do something cool that I hadn’t done before,” said Phil So, a third-year industrial design student.
So said he might be able to utilize some of the skills he learned from the workshop in his future endeavors.
Laura Palbom, a fourth-year industrial design student, echoed So’s sentiments. She said she plans to use what she’s learned to create models and to make reusable bags out of spare fabric.
“I don’t think many people realize how many things are silkscreened. It’s fun to see how it’s done,” she said, while putting the final touches on her design, a beetle with its wings spread out.
