We’re great believers in trying something new here at Bourne, in feeding our creative appetites with whatever we can get our paws on.

I’ve always wanted to try screen printing, to learn more about the print process and gain a better understanding of how it can be best used to its full potential. So I signed up for a weekend screen printing beginner course at the GPS, Trongate 103. The course covers every aspect of screen printing: preparing image separations, blending inks and editioning your finished prints.

The first day of the course mainly consists of learning how to prepare your stencil and screen. If acetates are not prepared prior to the course, you can etch your artwork on to drafting film. The screen is treated with photo emulsion and allowed to dry out. When it is dry, the screen is placed on the exposure unit with the stencil transparencies laid on top. Depending on the artwork and the desired finish, the stencils are exposed for a specified time. Once the screen has been exposed, it’s ready for print.

The second day of the course is spent printing your artwork. Students are taught to use the vacuum beds and learn how to set up the screens for printing. Perhaps the trickiest part of the print process is learning how to register your work to ensure your prints are accurate representations of your original artwork. When the first stencil has dried, the process is repeated until all the colour separations have been built up. Once the prints are dry, they are editioned accordingly and are trimmed down, if required. And there you have it. From screen printing novice to, er, a screen printing novice with a bit more knowledge in just two days. Perfect.