A Day of Creative Screen Printing at Nottingham Contemporary

There’s something quite satisfying about lifting a screen to reveal a print for the very first time, especially when you have no idea exactly how it’s going to turn out.

Last week, Specialist Crafts invited a group of art teachers to join us at Nottingham Contemporary for a day of screen printing with Berkshire Printmakers, exploring everything from bold stencilled designs to spontaneous freehand painting.

From the first pull of ink in the morning to the final prints in the afternoon, the day was all about experimentation, creativity and discovering just how versatile screen printing can be.

Starting with a Blank Canvas:

The morning began with a simple question: what can you create with a blank canvas bag, a screen and a little imagination?

Working with stencils, the teachers began developing their own designs before transferring them onto canvas bags. Some opted for bold, graphic shapes, while others experimented with colour and pattern, creating completely individual designs.

There was something particularly enjoyable about watching the designs come to life. The anticipation of lifting the screen, followed by that moment of seeing the finished print, was all part of the fun. Even small changes in colour, positioning or the amount of ink could create a completely different result.

Learning by Doing:

With the Berkshire Printmakers and the Specialist Crafts team on hand throughout the day, teachers were able to get stuck straight into the process while picking up tips and techniques along the way.

Rather than simply watching a demonstration, everyone had the opportunity to experiment for themselves, ask questions and discover what worked and sometimes what didn't!

That's one of the things we love about practical workshops. You can read about a technique or watch someone else demonstrate it, but there's nothing quite like getting your hands dirty and trying it for yourself.

For teachers, it also provides a valuable opportunity to experience an activity from a student's perspective. What might initially seem like a complicated process quickly becomes much more approachable once you've had a chance to try it.

From Stencils to Something More Spontaneous:

After a lovely lunch, the afternoon brought a completely different challenge.

This time, there were no stencils.

Instead, the teachers were encouraged to paint directly onto their screens by hand, creating marks and images in a much freer and more spontaneous way. It was a chance to forget about creating the 'perfect' image and simply see where the process took them.

And that unpredictability was part of the excitement.

As the screens were pulled, colours mixed and marks appeared on the paper, every print became a little different. Some were bold and energetic, while others were softer and more delicate. The results showed just how expressive screen printing can be when you give yourself permission to experiment.

A Different Way to Think About Screen Printing

The two sessions demonstrated two very different sides of the same process.

The stencilled bags showed how screen printing can be used to create clear, bold and repeatable designs. It's an approach that could easily be adapted into a classroom project, allowing students to explore shape, pattern, colour and graphic design.

The freehand session, on the other hand, showed that screen printing doesn't always need to be precise. Painting directly onto the screen created a much looser process, encouraging experimentation, mark-making and happy accidents.

Together, the activities were a great reminder that there isn't just one way to approach printmaking. A single technique can be adapted and developed in so many different directions depending on the artist, the materials and the desired outcome.

Taking Ideas Back to the Classroom

For us at Specialist Crafts, one of the most important parts of inviting teachers to workshops like this is giving them the opportunity to make art themselves.

Teachers spend so much of their time creating opportunities for their students that it's easy to forget how valuable it is to have time to experiment, explore new processes and simply enjoy making something.

By working alongside Berkshire Printmakers, the teachers were able to build their confidence with screen printing while discovering approaches that could be adapted for their own classrooms.

Whether it's a simple stencilled print on a bag or a more experimental piece created through freehand painting, there are plenty of possibilities for bringing the process to students

A huge thank-you to Berkshire Printmakers for leading such an inspiring and hands-on workshop, and to Nottingham Contemporary for hosting us in such a fantastic creative space.

Most importantly, thank you to all the teachers who accepted our invitation and threw themselves into the day. From colourful canvas bags in the morning to expressive prints in the afternoon, it was brilliant to see the room filled with creativity, conversation and plenty of ink.

We hope everyone left with new skills, fresh ideas and a little more inspiration to bring back into the classroom.