By Kaylee Fullington

Chaffey is known for allowing many local artists to flourish as was evident at the PrintZine workshop hosted at the Rancho Cucamonga campus. This event was hosted by two local artists, Cesar Omar Garcia and Adam Aguilar. These artists are part of the San Bernardino-based art collective entitled Grafica Nocturna which showcases collaborative works from artists throughout the Inland Empire.

This workshop showcased simple printmaking techniques that can be easily completed from home. Although standard materials for printmaking are normally very costly, there are plenty of household items that can substitute for these high priced materials.

Garcia and Aguilar hope that through traveling and producing these workshops they can show youths innovative ways to create professional artworks. Many are scared off from the idea of printing zines once they discover what the costs can be, but the goal of these local artists is to rule out the narrative that good art can only be created with expensive materials.

Printing zines is akin to screen printing as it involves many of the same steps. The first step in making a zine is tracing the preferred image into a material that can be easily molded such as styrofoam.

Using a pen to draw the desired image onto a piece of styrofoam can quickly embed the image to later be used as the stamp. If the image cannot be freehanded, another option would be to print out the image and then tape it onto the piece of styrofoam for a smooth transfer and more accurate image.

Once the image is fully embedded into the styrofoam with a pen, the process of stamping can now begin. To ensure that the entirety of the drawing is transferred, it is crucial that a generous layer of paint is rolled onto the styrofoam.

Now that the “stamp” has been created and has been pressed in ink it is ready to be used. The best way to transfer the image would be to firmly lay the material that is intended to be printed on against the stamp.

In most cases the material would be a piece of paper, but if another type of ink is being used such as fabric paint it can be transferred onto a piece of clothing instead. To ensure the quality of the pressed image there must be plenty of pressure placed onto the stamp in order to transfer the full image onto the paper.

Since this is a homemade print, any household items that can display enough pressure to transfer the image onto the paper will work perfectly. A great household item that would be practical in this scenario are heavy books.

After an adequate amount of pressure has been pressed onto the stamp, the heavy placeholders as well as the stamp can be removed from the finished product. It is crucial to remember that the ink on this new pressing is still damp and it must be given sufficient time to dry along with the stencil so it can be properly reused.

This process is very simple to complete at home and there are many alternative materials that can mimic the ones used amongst most professionals. Many are intimidated by the expense of the basic materials, but displaying affordable alternatives will hopefully inspire more local artists to experiment with this media type.

Printmaking has been an underrated art form for centuries and it is in the hands of the current generation to popularize the art form. The hopes of these workshops is to expand the learning of this media type and grow the zine printing community.

It is important that everyone has the opportunity to express themselves in different mediums of art. Anyone can express their creativity from home and this workshop proves that expensive materials are not necessary in order to create something from the heart.

Unleashing Creativity: Chaffey College PrintZine Workshop