Materials

I will refer to the sketchbook as a journal (no matter what type you are using) is useful in this course of study as it blends the diary and the sketchbook, allowing the student a free space to jot notes, write or quickly paste in an item that caught one’s eye – and then (importantly) the ability to reflect on those things later on.
Your journal will include:
• writing (responses to questions handed out, or to issues raised in class)
• drawing (doodles, visual note-taking, plans, sketches: research), and
• various ephemera that provoke a reaction in you.
Please be aware that I will review your journal in each class in order to be able to properly assess your progress, provide weekly feedback, and offer references and resources to you. The journal/sketchbook contributes to your grade and is, therefore, an important part of this course.

You may use whatever type of sketchbook/tool that suits you best to make your preparatory work – digital tools, sketching, drawing, collaging, or any other form of image-making. For a wide range of reasons, some people do not draw – but don’t worry, you can still make great prints without making drawings. If you have questions about this, please come to see me.
This semester we will be using also using an online resource to manage our prints. You are required to manage your journal/sketchbook and your section of this online tool as part of your weekly work. These are submitted to me at the end of the semester.

Printing equipment is durable and reusable. If you take care of the tools when using them and clean them after use they will be usable for years. Your cutting tool blades may need to be replaced periodically unless you know how to sharpen them yourself. Taking good care of these tools can make the difference between making good prints, and some that you have to compromise quality because the tools are limiting you. I would not want you to have to go and buy more just because of carelessness. Aside from the tools that you have bought, you will find you need some items that are likely around your house. You will need something to mix inks in – if you mix a custom color you want to re-use, that container needs to be air-tight, otherwise, the ink will dry within a day.

Consumable printing materials are those that you will be used up at some point. Ink, papers, mediums, and xacto blades all fit into this category. I anticipate that you will use all of the materials you have bought by the end of the semester. There are specific uses for each of these products and of course many ways of working with them. I will be explaining these techniques as the semester progresses. Please bear in mind that both durable and consumable printing materials are expensive, and our ability to restock them is limited in both time and funds. Our vendor usually takes 2 weeks to deliver orders, so let’s be careful and try not to waste.

The printing studio is a work area that needs to be kept clean and orderly as much as possible so that others can use it without hazards or problems.
I’d like to ask you all to act responsibly when working in the print studio. As I will explain, the conditions of the studio can dramatically affect the quality of your prints, so it is to everyone’s benefit for it to be kept in good working order. At a minimum, this means
1. EVERY tool you use must be cleaned once you are finished with it;
2. The work area you have used must be cleared and cleaned when you have finished;
3. Any trash/paper or other debris must be discarded properly, and
4. NOTHING should be left in the washout sink: tools, screens/plates must be removed form the sink and left to dry properly.