Over four weeks in May we became familiar with the basics of lino printing, drypoint, monoprint and collograph, both discovering the different techniques and experimenting with how they might work together.

The aim of the course was to sample the different types of printmaking and to understand some of the various materials and methods that can be used for each.

Participants were shown how to create their own designs and to explore the different options that can be used to make them into handmade prints. We had plenty of fun making a creative mess, but some fabulous prints emerged from the chaos and by the end of the course everyone was familiar with the mangle press and could roll their prints on through it!

Printmaking is a process that uses a surface design (on a ‘plate’ or a ‘block’) that is inked up by hand and then individually transferred to paper by rubbing or pressing. We were able to use a mangle press, a screw press (an old book binding press), hand held barens and other direct transfer techniques.

For me, the joy of printmaking lies in the ‘happy accidents’ and our participants went from worrying about ‘perfect’ results, to enjoying the extra marks and character the processes delivered to the designs.

Seeing a design come to life, and often add its own elements to the process became addictive; each unexpected mark or colour combination surprised and delighted in a way they would never have conceived themselves.

Printmaking does not require you to have good drawing or painting skills. It simply requires you to have a go – and our participants certainly gave it their best (and brilliant) shot! I hope you agree the results (pictured above) were fabulous!

If you would like to have a go at printmaking, please contact me at info@sargiesmess.co.uk. I can run private sessions, or bring a bunch of friends for a creative session together.