Wayne State’s American Institute of Graphic Arts student chapter hosted its first free printmaking workshop “Pizza and Printmaking” for WSU students on Old Main Monday night.
The workshop aims to provide students from different fields of study the opportunity to experience graphic design, said AIGA organizer Anna Boyer.
Boyer said the interests of the students influenced the creation of the workshop.
“Our group discussed with people who are student members of the organization, asking them what things they would like to see and do and we also based this off of our own interests,” Boyer said.
The workshop focused on the block printing process, which creates designs by stamping a rubber block on a blank canvas.
Boyer taught students how to use a carving tool to scrape a design into a soft rubber block, then coat the block in ink with a paint roller and press it onto a sheet of paper to transfer the ink onto the canvas.
This process resulted in various monochromatic designs created by the printed ink from the stamps students designed during the workshop.
Graphic design major Josie Curtis said she enjoyed the block printing process.
“I actually really love doing this, but I haven’t done it in a while,” she said.
Curtis said he had experience with the block printing process from making pieces for the annual Plymouth Art in the Park festival. Curtis said her biggest inspiration for graphic design came from her aunts who are both graphic designers.
During the Monday workshop, Curtis designed two prints, one being a teapot stack and another with abstract fine-line swirls and patterns.
Curtis said he chose a graphic design career because it can utilize fine arts and marketing, which he plans to use through designing for non-profit organizations in the future.
“One thing I’ve learned about graphic design is that it’s more about people than I ever thought it was going to be about,” Curtis said.
Graphic design major Hyelim Shin said she was interested in this workshop because she wanted to meet other like-minded students.
“It’s so hard to meet people at Wayne State and I’ve never really met people in my major besides in my classes and it’s always fun to get involved with stuff on campus other than class,” Shin said.
“I’ve done wood carving before so I’m thinking it’ll probably be a little easier since the material is more malleable,” said Shin. Regardless, he wanted to stick to doing something simple, as to not overestimate the potential difficulty.
Boyer said the Dean of Students Office was supportive of the new workshop.
“We helped plan this through the Dean of Students Office, so they helped provide some funding for the event and then we designed the fliers and advertising for it,” Boyer said.
At the end of the workshop, attendees traded their prints with each other in an art swap.
“I actually had so much fun,” Shin said, “I think I’m going to try doing this on my own at home now.”
Emily Crane is a contributing writer for The South End. She can be reached at [email protected].
Cover photo by Emily Crane.