Melanie McCarthy

After firsthand experience discovering issues of waste and toxic chemicals in printmaking, I found that water-based inks and fabric scraps are viable substitutes for oil-based inks and newsprint. I had other printmakers of varying skill levels test and accept this hypothesis. To communicate my findings, I developed a virtual exhibition of the prints I collected and created during the testing process, had a socially-distanced home printing workshop, and created an online encyclopedia with varying resources.

Challenge: The biggest challenge I faced was the system established in the printshop at Parsons. I wanted to tackle it head on initially but found that I made a bigger impact by directly addressing the printmaking community rather than the school’s administration. The next big hurdle I faced was pivoting my project when social distancing was in place. I decided to hone in on home printmaking, as that can actually be much more sustainable.

Outcome: The outcome of my project was my website, complete with a virtual exhibition of works entirely made on fabric with water-based ink, a sustainable printmaking step-by-step guide, a resource encyclopedia of a variety of tutorials and supplies for at home printing, a contributions page where anyone can add the work they made sustainably or at home, and a thesis journey description. I hope to publish all of this information in a book as well.