Learning to Love the Wobble: My First Riso Printing Workshop
I recently took part in a Beginners Risograph (‘Riso’) Printing workshop at Dundee Contemporary Arts.
Serious art!
My black art portfolio came along with me. It was the first time it has been on an adventure via the Tay Rail Bridge since I dropped out of art college 22 years ago. A quiet milestone, but a meaningful one.
For those unfamiliar, riso printing is a fast-paced, delightfully unpredictable process that uses soy-based inks and recycled paper. Each colour is printed as a separate layer, which means every pass through the printer can result in unexpected and beautiful results.
Riso printing colour chart - so many funky colours!
In our first session, we learned how to prepare our designs using collage, drawing, painting etc. We also explored how to separate artwork into individual colour layers and use spot colours to create new shades. The range of bold, vibrant inks felt like my idea of heaven — endless combinations to play around with.
Creative spaces have always felt like home to me, but for some reason (probably a weird Kay thing), that feeling multiplies the moment I tie on an apron - or a “pinny,” as my Granny used to call it. It instantly makes me feel official, like I’m about to get down to some serious art!
The “tools” - sharpies, pencils, scissors and trusty pritt sticks etc!
I brought along a hand-drawn image to work with and, with the tutor’s guidance, began adapting it for the riso process. It took some effort to reverse-engineer the design, but I successfully managed to prepare my first colour layer - yellow!
Reverse engineering my design
We were given some paper to take away for “homework,” so I could dive straight into the next phase before our second session.
Back in my home studio, I tucked myself away and dove into a kind of meditative chaos — carefully cutting stencils for the next two layers: red and blue. There was a lot of squinting. A fair amount of swearing. At one point, I found myself trying to position a piece of paper the size of a grain of rice using tweezers. It was a true test of my patience, eyesight, and sanity!
Blue layer
I arrived at the second print session unsure if I’d gone too intricate — half-convinced I’d wasted days on something too ambitious to pull off. But in the end, it came together, and I’m so chuffed with the final result!
Ta dah!
Some of the colours were slightly misaligned, but I didn’t mind — it only added to the charm. That gentle wobble is part of what gives riso printing its distinctive, handcrafted feel. Perfectly imperfect!
I’ve now been officially “signed off,” which means I can join the print studio as a member and start experimenting further with riso printing. I already have a few ideas brewing and can’t wait to get my pinny back on!
If you’re curious about risograph printing, I can’t recommend the workshop at Dundee Contemporary Arts highly enough. It’s a fantastic introduction to such a playful printmaking process.
Beyond riso, Dundee Contemporary Arts is a vibrant cultural hub in the heart of Dundee, with two contemporary galleries, a cinema, impressive print studio, creative workshops, a shop, and a café bar. There’s always something inspiring going on - find out more at the DCA website.
