I sometimes lead hand printing workshops and courses, face-to-face (in the Bristol area) and online.
The next, live, online course will be a 10 week, online course ‘The Complete Home Printmaker’ starting on Tuesday 24th September, 1.30pm-3pm (British time).
10 sessions of 1.5 hours, on Tuesday afternoons, via Zoom – link sent after booking and recordings will be available.
This online course will guide you through many techniques that you can try at home, as well as enabling you to make intentional finished pieces using as many of the techniques as you wish.
Embracing the low-tech and DIY, you’ll come away from the course with the confidence to set up your own home print studio- without a press!
Each week there will be a 1.5 hour online, Zoom, session with some demonstration, some printmaking together and some sharing of work and ideas. You can also work at home in between online meetings.
Weeks 1 and 2– Introduction to hand mono-printing. Work made will feed into other techniques
Week 3 – Working with Stamps and Stencils- following on from monoprint, another way to create layers and pattern using simple techniques and tools
Weeks 4, 5, 6 and 7- Introduction to hand printing techniques at home, including drypoint, collograph, and Lino print. Incorporating monoprint and collage into all the techniques
Week 8– Spend a week planning a print, or prints, using one or several of the techniques we’ve covered. Working from photos and sketches. Composition and transferring of images onto plates.
Week 9 and 10– Making plates and printing a planned print, or prints. Cropping, mounting and framing your prints. Integrating home print practice into other art work and printmaking.
If you’d prefer to learn at home via one of my self-paced video courses, then click below.
If you’d like to hire me for a demonstration, workshop or course for your club, group or event, please click below.
Workshops can vary in what they include, but you’ll find a general description below:
My online or face-to-face workshops are a great introduction to printmaking or kickstart to your artistic practice- no need for a press or print studio.
This is a wonderful way to spend a morning, afternoon or full day, learning a simple creative technique that you can do at home with no special equipment or previous artistic experience. These workshops can also serve as a kickstart to an existing artistic practice.
Hand mono-printing creates unparalleled marks and is full of joyful surprises and serendipity.
There will be parts where you watch as I demonstrate step by step hand printing techniques and parts where you can get stuck in making your own images, while we all work alongside each other, with plenty of time to ask questions and chat. A comprehensive materials list is sent out before the workshop, with stockists and home found alternatives. For a small group, I can provide materials.
You should come away with the confidence to print at home as well as several prints to mount and frame or to use in other artwork.
Who are the workshops for?
Beginners or those with some printmaking or artistic experience. If you’ve ever wanted to try printmaking but been put off by having to join a print studio then these workshops are for you.
What will the workshop cover?
A short introduction to what hand mono printing is, and some inspiring examples.
A chance to choose and mix a palette of colours, and advice on your working area.
Demonstrations and practical sessions on rolling out ink, manipulating it, adding texture and taking a print by hand. There will also be demonstrations of masking out, layering up textures and colours, creating line work and forms, adding definition to your prints with stamps, stencils and printing with objects.
Advice on how to dry and store your images, was well as how you might like to mount and frame them or use them in other art work.
Who is your tutor?
I’m an artist educated to degree level in illustration and with 20 years of DIY home hand-printing experience as well as extensive print studio experience (I’m a member of Spike Print Studio in Bristol and was a recipient of the University of the West of England scholarship in 2018). I have led workshops with children and adults, those with extensive experience and those with none.
What do people say about my workshops?
‘All very clear and opened up possibilities for development’.
‘I like the format of alternating demonstrations and practice, helps to build in stages’.
‘Excellent materials list and guidance’
‘I liked your relaxed manner and the pace’
‘Plenty of ideas to take forward’
‘It was perfect because you gave us plenty of time to explore’
‘Calm, friendly and positive’
‘Ruth encouraged all levels of ability’
‘Clearly laid out and explained’
‘The camera views were good to watch alongside the instruction’
What do I need to take part?
You won’t need much specialist equipment, but a rubber roller, a smooth surface to roll ink or paint onto, thin paper and ink or paint are the essentials. A comprehensive materials and equipment list is sent out before the workshop with stockist suggestions and home found alternatives for most things. Alternatively, for small groups, materials may be provided.
If you’re a workshop organiser and you’d like to find out out more about what I can provide just email me, or if you’d like to be the first to know about upcoming workshop dates then sign up to my newsletter.