The Leeds Print Workshop winter programme of workshops has been well-attended, with most workshops filling every place. Folks from all backgrounds have attended workshops in natural dyeing, monoprint, heat transfer printing, linocut, bookbinding, and screenprint for both fabric and paper. The workshops were taught by founding members of the Leeds Print Workshop committee, who are all practising printmakers with years of teaching experience. It’s been a blast getting people into the space to make art on all our new equipment, especially people who are brand new to printmaking. A great way to christen the workshop in the first few months of opening!
As well as teaching students some new skills, the workshops are a good introduction to the Leeds Print Workshop space. Some folks who have taken the workshops have already signed up for memberships, meaning that they can come in whenever they like during workshop opening hours and make more artwork, building on the techniques they learned.
Starting in the new year, the Spring workshop programme will bring back the courses that people have enjoyed so far, as well as trying out a few new things. We can’t wait to see the results of Experimental Screen Printing, which will be a five week course running on Mondays. And now that we have three etching presses to play with, the Drypoint Intaglio class will have lots of room to spread out. The Monoprint class will now encompass Collograph too; these are both fast and fun printmaking techniques perfect for beginners.
See below some photos from the Natural Dyeing workshop. Students used dyes derived from natural sources, including turmeric, madder and onion skins, to dye fabric in harmonious tints. Mordants of different kinds were added to affect the shade of the dye, making a surprising range of colours from homegrown ingredients.
‘Tis the season for screenprinting…Just in time for Christmas, Leeds Print Workshop ran a session for students to screenprint their own holiday cards. Each student produced their own screen with festive designs, and experimented with inking to make some unique gifts – and learned how to screenprint along the way.
Check out our website for the full list of upcoming classes. Don’t forget to book online while places are still available, and we hope to see you in Leeds Print Workshop soon!
