It's great to be back to 'normal', getting together with likeminded people now we can gather inside again.
A while ago I had an inbox message from a lady called Julie at The Barn at Lanivet. She wondered if I'd like to run a couple of workshops at her venue. I arranged to drive up for a cuppa and see what the space was like. I could have chatted to Julie all day, she made me feel very welcome and had a fabric and wool shop which regularly hosted a variety of workshops. I was concerned about ink near her stock, but she said dom't worry about it! You can see what else is on offer at The Barn here
Julie took the bookings and I turned up on a bright and sunny morning with rain forcast. I set up in the fab space and welcomed seven women who were excited to have a go at printing.
We began by cutting some small stamps to understand the positive and negative cuts. This is one of the trickiest parts of linocutting to get your head round.
I took some of my cut blocks and the corresponding prints so people had an idea.
We then moved on to a larger piece. Some people had come with ideas, others were keen to experiment. We discussed reversing images and lettering and ways to do that.
Some people drew straight onto their lino and others used tracing paper and carbon paper to transfer their pictures.
We used straight black ink and then process blue mixed with extender and white. I had taken packs of paper ranging in thickness and colour. This gives people an idea of which types of paper they feel comfortable handprinting with. Pressing by hand can be quite hard on your wrists and you must take regular breaks and stretch, the same when cutting.
It's truly wonderful to see people pull their first print. They are pretty much always delighted, and sometimes very surprised!
For a basic kit list see this blog post
For my next workshops click here
