NEW LINO PRINTING WORKSHOPS

I will be running more lino printing workshops for beginners in my Southville studio [Bristol] over March and April.

During this 3 hour course you will learn how to use your own design to cut a lino block and make a one-colour print picture.  You will be using oil-based printing inks and have the opportunity to try both hand burnishing and using a table-top printing press.

All materials are provided within the course fee [along with tea, coffee and biscuits!]
Please note you will need to bring an apron or wear old clothes.

There are 2 new dates to choose from:

-Tuesday 15th March 6pm-9pm : £40
-Tuesday 12th April 6pm-9pm : £40

See here and here for previous workshops I've run in my studio.  If you are interested please get in touch via ruth_pea@yahoo.co.uk

Lino printing workshop

 

Last week I opened up my studio for a beginners lino printing workshop.

Taking place in the evening, the workshop was attended by a lovely group of people all open to trying something new, just for fun.  There was no pressure to produce masterpieces, but each person designed something really individual and the prints were all completely beautiful.

 

 

If this has inspired you to try some lino printing I will posting some new workshop dates in the next few days, or contact me directly at ruth_pea@yahoo.co.uk 

NEW YEAR LINO PRINTING WORKSHOPS

I will be running lino printing workshops for beginners in my Bristol [UK] studio in 2016.

During this 3 hour course you will learn how to use your own design to cut a lino block and make a one-colour print picture.  We will be using oil-based printing inks and you will have the opportunity to have a go at both hand burnishing and using a table-top printing press.

All materials are provided within the course fee [along with tea, coffee and biscuits!]
Please note you will need to bring an apron or wear old clothes.

There are 4 dates to choose from:
-Tuesday 19th January 10am-1pm : £40
-Tuesday 19th January 6pm-9pm : £40
-Tuesday 16th February 10am-1pm : £40
-Tuesday 16th February 6pm-9pm : £40

If you think you might like to try something new in 2016 or if you want to give a unique Christmas gift get in touch via ruth_pea@yahoo.co.uk

Print as a present

A few weeks ago these lovely ladies came to learn lino printing in my studio.  The idea was put to me by Ruth [on the left] that I might run a lino printing workshop as a birthday gift for her mum Louise [2nd left] as a fun and sociable and creative celebration for various friends and family.

They booked a 4 hour workshop, giving plenty of time to develop designs and ideas.  They started by finding inspiration from books, magazines and each other.   They were all so encouraging of each other and  enthusiastic to learn, it was a pleasure to spend the day with them.



                             

Once the designs were finalised then the fun of carving the lino could begin.  Some people chose to concentrate on one challenging and detailed design while others produced multiple smaller lino blocks.

 

After a short lunch break it was time for the messy part of the process to begin!  Mixing colours and rolling out and applying the ink to the printing block.  Everyone learnt how to burnish by hand with a wooden spoon to rub the ink from the block onto the paper.  There was also the opportunity to use the table top printing press in my studio, but I was interested to see that most people seemed to prefer to burnish by hand, as I do myself.

 

For me the best bit is gently pealing back the paper to reveal your print.  It would have been hard not to get swept up in the group's excitment and enthusiasm for each others work as each new piece was completed.  At the end of the day the drying line had some really beautiful work hanging on it.

If you are interested in booking a group lino work shop for a gift like Ruth did please get in touch.  My studio is is not huge so numbers are limited! 

Inked up

 

Over the February school holidays I ran two workshops for children at Prema Arts Centre, teaching relief printing. 

The classes were very well attended and the children produced some fantastic results.  The younger group [aged 5-7] used polystyrene printing blocks, making marks on the surface with pencils, cooky cutters and even lego.  We worked on a theme of butterflies and flowers.  These children really enjoyed experimenting with mixing colours and putting muliple colours on each block.  Everybody had a go at rolling out the ink and using my printing press as well as wooden spoons to burnish.

 

The older children [age 8-10] started with lino printing blocks and they used lino cutting tools to make their designs.   We used a theme of leaves and trees to start off with, but with the introduction of polystyrene blocks to speed things along there were soon all sorts of woodland creatures appearing!  As well as everyone producing their own individual prints we also produced one large shared piece. I thought this was really successful and I was hugely impressed with the children's ideas and creativity and their ability to work together.

PRODUCT STORY

This is a post from the Made In Bristol blog about me and my making process:

Product Story - Happy Cloud, Angry Cloud Print by Ruth Broadway

Have you ever wondered how Ruth Broadway makes her beautiful lino prints?  Our latest Product Story interview tells all...

Firstly can you introduce us to your work space what are you surrounded by when you start a project? 

I work in a basement studio, there is lots of light and space to make a mess. I have images and objects that inspire ideas around me. 

So, do you remember where and how the idea came about? 

Often reading stories to my children will feed ideas for imagery. I am always scribbling down ideas and sketches in numerous notebooks. I have got too many notebooks on the go and often it takes me a long time to find the notes and drawings again when the time comes to put the ideas in motion! 

Can you give a brief description of how you started the project? 

I draw my design full scale and then trace it so that the image can be reversed and applied to the lino block [everything I cut out is back to front]. 

What are the essential tools for this project?

paper and pencil 

tracing paper 

lino block 

lino cutters 

printing ink 

rollers and pallets 

wooden spoon or a burnishing tool 

lovely printing paper 

Can you take us through the stages of development from start to finish? 

* Once I have the design I also have to think about colour - this print uses 3 colours and so I have to prepare and cut 3 lino blocks. 

* Once the blocks are cut I mix my inks to get the first colour I need, there is often an order in which to print dependent on the colours I am using - in this one the blue is first to create the template for which to place the other two colours. The pink is next and then the grey is last because it is dark enough to work over the top of the blue. 

* I roll the ink out on my pallet to get the right consistency of ink and then apply the ink with the roller onto my lino blocks. I sometimes have to clean up the blocks with a cotton bud to remove any rogue bits of ink that might spoil a print. 

* Once ready I lay all the parts of the design face up on my clean work bench and carefully lay my paper over the top. 

* I then use my trusty wooden spoon [it’s a really small wooden spoon and its just the right weight and size for the job - I might have ‘borrowed’ it from my daughter’s kitchen set!] 

* Holding the paper in place I firmly burnish the back of the print. I use a relatively thin paper so often I can see through it and this helps me to take a good rubbing of the whole the design. This burnishing can be quite physical and I am always surprised how warm I get at this stage process! 

* I love peeling back the paper to see how the print has come out. 

* Once its done its hung on a drying line I have rigged up in the space [meaning that when people come to visit me in my studio they have to duck under drying prints. I’ve got used to where I can stand up straight and where I need to stoop!] 

* Once this colour is dry which might be a few days it is time to do the second colour - pink. This time when the colour is ready to go on the block I place it face down onto the paper in the appropriate place and then carefully turn the whole thing over so I can burnish on the back of the print again. 

* The grey cloud is done next in exactly the same way. 

* The finished print then goes back on the drying line ready for editioning and framing. 

Within the whole process of the project what stages did you look forward too? 

I LOVE cutting the lino block; it feels like sculpture! - the more intricate the better, although my hands wouldn’t agree - they can get rather stiff and painful if I do a lot of carving. I also love the peeling the paper back and peeking underneath to see the final colour printing block and get the first view of the finished print. 

Are there any future plans in the pipeline for new designs? Can you tell us about them? 

I always got ideas whirling around in my head - often with the other areas of running a craft business single handedly, there isn’t as much time as I would like to just print.

Finally, once the project is complete and you have time to yourself what the first thing you do to celebrate? 

I’ve never thought of celebrating maybe I should do from now on. Completing a print is quite rewarding in itself - I like the slightly weary feeling of having worked hard to create an end product.

Ruth, we think you deserve a little celebration after producing such lovely prints!  If, after reading the story behind the 'Happy Cloud, Angry Cloud' print, you would like one of your very own, well you can!  Ruth's stunning lino prints are available to buy in our SUMMER Paper Scissors Stone shop.

Paper Scissors Stone

Quakers Friars

Cabot Circus

Bristol

Opens Daily:

Mon - Sat:  10am - 6pm

Sun:  11am - 5pm

Hanging on the line

Last week, amongst other things, I spent  a lot of time cutting new printing blocks. I love carving the lino!  This week its a printing week- HOORAY!  Its my last chance to get work printed before the big sort out in preparation for the Southville art trail.  So I thought I'd post what's hanging on the drying line at the end of two days printing - its all mostly work in progress at this stage [I will put up the finished results at a later date].

Practise makes a bit better...

I have been working, over the last six months or so, to develop a series of lino prints.  I had done a tiny bit of lino printing back at art college years ago; but the self indulgent student that I was didn't appreciate the tutelage that I had on hand.  So this time it's been a case of a lot of trial and error and many disappointing results. 

Lino printing has a reputation as a simple art form - suitable for beginners and children - which it is, but like all things that are made to look easy by experienced practitioners there is a lot of skill and knowledge involved.

I decided to ask lovely printer friends if they wouldn't mind sharing their knowledge and experience - I have been really touched by the generous way they have given their advice, time and encouragement.  My little frustrations along my lino printing journey make it all the more satisfying when there start to be more successful prints than ones destined for the bin at the end of the day.

So thanks to my friends I am really enjoying practising my art....