Maureen Da Silva

Maureen Da Silva, is the Managing Director of the inPrint Collective, a Toronto-based not-for-profit artist group she helped found, and with whom she is is always loudly and proudly sharing her love of lithography, screenprint and other print media. A 2008 graduate of York University’s B.F.A program, Maureen has also completed her Masters of Arts at the University of Toronto (2009). Her research in her Women and Gender Studies Master’s program focused on inclusive politics within feminist art collectives. She has since also obtained a Certificate in Museum Studies from the Ontario Museum Association (2013). Maureen follows her passion with feminism and art by participating in the committee for the Feminist Art Collective (Toronto). Maureen also works at the Art Gallery of Ontario as an Education Officer for both youth and adult programs. She has received two Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grants in 2015 and 2018. Her own practice in feminism and printmaking, as well as the artistic wealth of her print community has inspired Maureen to (hopefully) a lifetime of creativity.

WHY MAUREEN JOINED THE SPEEDBALL DEMO ARTIST PROGRAM

When I first graduated from art school, one of the things that I wrestled with was how I was going to maintain access to the equipment-heavy process of printmaking. Having focused on lithography in university, I was left with the fear that I would not be able to continue in the medium that changed my path in the arts, and so looked towards other processes that might be more amenable for at-home production. Not yet sold on relief printing, though I would come to that thanks to my inPrint colleagues, I decided to give my hand a try at building a screenprint studio in my home, as I had dabbled in it in my last year.  Even though my experience with screen was in a university setting, with access to professional-grade vacuum exposure units, fully decked out wash-out rooms, and roomy printing tables, Speedball’s at-home instructions paved a way of possibility for me. Starting with that booklet that came with a screen print set (which I still have), ten years ago now, experimenting with exposures on various light bulbs using cut-out pie tins in a dark closet, to eventually using a black-light table in a safe-light room, this easily- accessible set of instructions helped me fall in love with screen as much as I love lithography and added a new dimension to my art practice. Figuring out how to expose at home was a game-changer for me. The number one thing I love the most about Speedball is how easy it’s made it for me to work in big, bold, beautiful print practices.

AVAILABLE DEMONSTRATION FORMATS

Tabletop / Open to Public Events
Lecture Demonstrations
Workshops