Leeds Print Workshop has been so lucky to have strong connections within the creative community in Leeds, folks who are willing to donate or lend the workshop printmaking equipment and tools. The new kit just keeps coming in, and we’d like to introduce you to a few of the latest additions to the studio. These presses, screens, inks and so on are all immediately available for use by members and by attendees of our workshops. So if you haven’t made use of our facilities yet, this stuff is all waiting for you to print with!
A mainstay of any printmaking workshop is an etching press, and Leeds Print Workshop is now lucky enough to have TWO on the premises. Each press has its own strengths and (I like to think) personality – and they are also different sizes, so you can make a teeny tiny print up to an A3 print. The newest addition to the studio is this smart green etching press, lent to us by the generous folks at Hawthorn. I think our two presses probably need names, so please contact us with ideas. (Current contenders include Pinky and Perky, Abbott and Costello, Sooty and Sweep, and whatever the names of the twin cheerleaders on Fun House were.) Etching presses are great for printing etchings (of course), but also drypoint, monoprint, collograph, and embossing.
Another welcome addition to our pantheon of presses is this nipping press. This beast is elegantly constructed out of cast iron, and has enough heft to produce some effective pressure on linocuts; it is also very useful for bookbinding. These nipping presses are coveted items these days, so we’re incredibly grateful to have the use of this fine specimen.
One item of feedback that we’ve had from our members is that they would like to be able to purchase inks from the workshop, so they can get started on linocuts, monoprints etc. right then and there. Hawthorn have come through for us again on this front, and we now stock a range of stay-open relief inks available to buy at low cost. We’ve got your Process Cyans, your Cadmium Yellow Deep Hues, your Turquoises…but adventurous members may also want to venture into Fluorescent Acid Yellow Sonic Ink territory.
Our previous blog post mentioned the letterpress sundries that a kind supporter has lent to us, but here’s a glimpse of a cabinet of type in situ at the Workshop. Perpetua, Spartan and Engravers title are some formal yet elegant serif fonts, and I’m hoping we can get the Adana presses up and running soon to try it all out.
What about screenprint?? Well, we’ve really struck lucky on this front. Before Leeds Print Workshop even opened we had dozens of screens donated to us, and we’ve had fresh batches of screens arriving on our doorstep ever since. On the Workshop’s opening night, some new friends drove over from their print workshop in Wales to deliver a stack of screens that they wanted to donate. We now have a decent stock of screens to print on both paper and fabric – enough for members and for screenprint workshop attendees to use. However, we could always make use of more, so if you have a few screens gathering dust in your attic, please get in touch.
To go with all these screens, we’ve gotten together all the equipment you need to process and print your screenprints. This includes a bespoke washout booth to clean ink and emulsion off screens, and a whole range of squeegees (a terrifically fun word to say) to get the ink from screen to your paper/fabric.
Keep an eye out for updates on new equipment and materials; or alternatively, drop into see us on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and see what’s new.
