Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Solve problems in the art making process using a variety of strategies for making screenprints, which demonstrate command of introductory level processes, techniques and materials.
• Participate in a critical dialogue about ideas and issues in screenprinting using industry terminology and applying self-critiquing skills.
• Interpret and critically evaluate prints from different cultures to initiate a life-long process of studying the diverse perspectives of the human experience.
• Express connections to personal experiences through work in the medium of screenprinting with awareness of the standards and practices established by both contemporary and historical artists.

Class time during the term is used for in-studio practice, lectures and presentations, demonstrations, critiques and group discussions. Students are expected to engage in studio work during and outside of class time.

• Create print projects that are aesthetically and formally challenging and demonstrate the student’s evolution through both ideas and process.

• Demonstrate sound screenprinting techniques and safe and efficient studio habits with respect to the communal environment.

• Participate in discussions and critiques. Take an active role and make contributions applying concepts and terminology used in the discipline.

• Evaluate both technical approaches and conceptual directions in prints though comprehensive written responses.

Themes

• Visual communication
• Contextual awareness

Concepts

• Formal and aesthetic considerations
• Connections between content and meaning
• Process, technique and material choices

Issues

• Understand the graphic aesthetic, the specific possibilities and limitations inherent to screenprinting.
• Historical knowledge of screenprinting
• Personal expression through the medium of screenprinting
• Environmental awareness related to materials and proper disposal of waste

Skill

• Learning methodologies for designing and completing screeprinted editions.
  • Strategies for generating ideas
  • Image making - Bridging ideas with screenprinting methods to create images of both formal and conceptual power.
  • Screen preparation - Demonstrate the ability to degrease and coat screens with photo emulsion.
  • Screen exposure – Understand how to properly use the screen exposure unit.
  • Printing preparation – Demonstrate the ability to choose the appropriate substrate to print on. Understand color mixing and how to use registration systems.
  • Printing – Demonstrate sound printing techniques, such as holding the squeegee at the correct angle, flooding the screen and applying adequate pressure to control ink while printing.
  • Curating prints
  • Presentation—Select the most effective presentation for a particular image.
• Critique and self-reflection strategies for evaluating prints
• Studio safety