POP!NK presents POP-in Events: The Ultimate Hands-On Creative Experience

The average American spends about 12 hours per day staring at screens. That’s literally half our lives glued to desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones… and it’s having increasingly adverse effects on our physical health, our mental health and even our cognitive development. 

Enter screenprinting — an altogether different kind of screen time. 

Screenprinting (the centuries-old craft of squeezing ink through a stenciled mesh screen onto a surface to create an image) is the ultimate digital detox, combining material engagement, physical interaction and analog precision in one holistic creative practice. Studies show that screenprinting:

• Encourages mindfulness, boosts problem-solving skills and builds mental resilience

• Reduces physiological stress, enhances neurological health and improves conditioning 

• Provides tactile satisfaction, fosters community connection and nurtures emotional expression

Disconnect from your screens and reconnect with yourself under the tutelage of POP!NK Experiences, Chicago’s first and only brand dedicated to interactive screenprinting workshops custom-curated for creative professionals and artists, business teams and art enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds. 

POP-in Artist Collaborations

Artist + Master Printer

An immersive, hands-on creative partnership bringing an artist's vision to life through fine art screenprinting.

POP-in Collector Events

Art + Discovery

Exclusive experiences connecting collectors with artists, original artwork, and the stories behind the work.

POP-in Workshops & Parties

Creativity + Community

Interactive screenprinting experiences for corporate gatherings, private parties, and creative team building.

Step-by-Step Screenprinting, Taught by the Very Best in the Business

Screenprinting is conceptually simple, but technically complex. A printer hand-pulls a squeegee across a mesh to transfer ink onto a substrate like paper or apparel, excluding any areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. Colors are printed one at a time, necessitating a separate screen for each successive layer of color applied. 

POP!NK Experiences’ hands-on screenprinting workshops break it all down step by step, guided by master printers Curt Readel and Zach Schrey, co-owners of POP!NK Editions, Chicago’s premier fine art screenprinting studio. You’ll get up close and personal with core processes including: 

• Screen coating and burning (Applying light-sensitive photo emulsion with a scoop coater, drying screens in a darkroom and exposing stencils using a UV exposure unit)

• Washout and reclamation (Washing out the unexposed image and cleaning the mesh for reuse)

• Registration and setup (Aligning multi-color designs, setting up off-contact gaps and securing materials on a printing press)

• Printing and inks (Mastering squeegee angles, pressure, ink viscosity and curing prints properly with heat)

Each workshop participant goes home with their own hand-pulled, suitable-for-framing, POP!NK Editions-authenticated screenprint, featuring original work from acclaimed contemporary artists from across Chicago and beyond. POP!NK collectors take note: Each screenprinted image is unique to that particular workshop, and will not be reprinted at subsequent events. 

But don’t just take POP!NK’s word for it. Here’s what past workshop attendees say.

“I loved it. I’m a very visual person. Color brings me a lot of joy, so seeing the process behind everything you do here was very special.” — Lauren H.

“I learned so much about screenprinting. I knew nothing about screenprinting going into it, and now I’m very intrigued by it. I want to have a lot of screenprints in my home.” — Maddie L.

“I didn’t expect the amount of passion [the POP!NK team] had, and how they exuded that through their teachings. They humanized the experience, and made it very funny.” — Greer L.

“I enjoyed learning about something that I had no idea was such a big deal. I recommend this experience to everybody. I think everybody needs to know about it.” — Isabel A.