Corita Kent Inspired Screen Print Workshop

This is a screen print workshop inspired by the art of Corita Kent; pop artist, educator, activist and former nun. During the 1960s and 1970s Kent used screen printing to create bold typographic posters reflecting her concerns about poverty, racism and war. The messages of love, peace, faith and politics she created were powerful calls for change.

We will be taking inspiration from Kent’s prints from the 1960s with their blocks of bright colour, simple abstract shapes, hand drawn lettering and bold typographic slogans.  Participants will create their own messages of hope and positivity using simple motifs, symbols or text. They will draw their own design, use scalpels to hand cut their design from paper and then screen print onto paper using bright coloured ink. Participants may also want to use other materials to combine collage and hand drawn lettering with their screen prints. They will produce a small series of prints to take away at the end of the session.

What to prepare and what to bring

We’ll be taking inspiration from Kent’s screen prints from the 1960s and in particular 1964 to 1967, you can see more of these on the Corita Art Centre’s website https://www.corita.org/

You may want to bring a word, symbol or motif to work with. Remember to keep it simple as you will be hand cutting your design to make a stencil. If you would like to incorporate hand drawn lettering you may want to bring additional text such as a quote, lyrics or poem.

Please bring an apron if you have one or wear clothes you don’t mind getting ink on.  Remember to bring a bag or a folder to take A4 sized prints home in.

Additional information for participants

• This workshop is for adults aged 18 and over.
• This workshop is suitable for beginners.
• Materials and equipment will be provided.
• Please note; this is a hands-on practical workshop. There will be some drawing and participants will be using equipment such as scalpels and squeegees. Some of the workshop will be seated but participants will also be standing to screen print.