Materials and Preparation

If you want to print alongside me during the 3 days, you’ll need a flat surface of some kind (plastic, glass, a placemat, large ceramic tile, plastic chopping board – you can use a gelli plate if you wish, though you may not be able to make all of the marks on it) some ink or paint and fairly thin paper. A roller/brayer is really useful, but not essential as I’ll be showing some techniques that don’t need a roller.

Ink or paint – I often use oil paints, but if you have any relief/lino/block printing ink, you can use that. Just 1 colour or black is fine. You can use acrylics (particularly if you’re using a gelli plate), though they are a little harder to roll out and you will need to use open acrylics or add a retardant so they don’t dry too quickly.

Any thin-ish paper will do for this kind of experimental playing – in the videos I’ll be using copy paper because it’s plentiful, thin and cheap. Thinner paper is best for hand printing without a press (I often use tissue paper), but have a go with what ever you have to hand.

I like Essdee rollers – budget friendly and good. They are often available in art and craft shops and online too.

I’ve made three videos to give you ideas for mark-making tools, textures and printing plates to try. These videos will be released on my YouTube channel over the next few weeks, but you can view them here anytime.