About screenprinting
Screen printing is a traditional print process that uses stencils to build up an image. The stencil is attached to a screen - a finely woven mesh attached to a frame. The image is printed by drawing a squeegee at pressure across the screen, pushing ink through the mesh onto paper in those areas not covered by the stencil.
There are different ways of making stencils for screen print; the most basic are papercuts, but a more sophisticated technique uses a photostencil: the screen is coated with a light sensitive emulsion and the artwork is exposed onto it. This process allows greater detail than paper stencils, and enables photographic images and text to be used. For each colour to be printed, a separate piece of artwork needs to be created.
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About me
I discovered screenprinting in 1990 while at college, and was instantly hooked on it; the crisp edges and pools of saturated colour, and I liked its versatility - you can work small or very large, be spontaneous or meticulous as you like, and it is just as easy to print on a tee shirt or a wood panel as a piece of paper.
I grew up in Devon, and then moved to Portsmouth to take a BA in Fine Art Painting. A few years later whilst living in Oxford I started learning printmaking techniques at the Oxford Printmakers Workshop, and then in 1991 went on to study an MA in Printmaking at Chelsea College of Art, remaining in London to work as a scenic painter and muralist.
In 2002 I moved to Bristol, and in 2004 studied a PGCE in Post Compulsory Education at UWE. I divide my time between making prints, teaching, and illustration.
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About the studio
My studio is part of Centrespace Co-operative, a block of 30 workshops and studios that also manage the adjoining Centrespace Gallery. The studio is an airy space of two rooms with an additional wet room for screen washing. One room houses the print equipment and one is for design and drawing work. The print room uses a self built exposure unit, and includes three printing stations (one tabletop setup and two vacuum beds), and marble racks for drying prints. The drawing room includes desk space for three people and a large lightbox.
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Directions​
My workshop is in Centrespace, a studio block tucked away down a side street in Bristol's Old City area.
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Centrespace
Studio 4
6 Leonard Lane
Bristol BS1 1EA
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To contact please email simontozer@gmail.com
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