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  • Glossary of Printmaking Terminology

    Glossary of Printmaking Terminology

    Scroll through the list below to find definitions and explanations of common printmaking terms: Acid-free – refers to papers that are made with an alkaline pulp, usually with calcium carbonate added. Acids contribute to the deterioration of paper and therefore of prints. Aisuki – a rounded, bevelled chisel tool used in Japanese Woodblock Printing, often …
  • In the Studio 2023

    In the Studio 2023

    We've been looking back on all our studio highlights for 2023, and what a year it's been! If you took part in one of our Fab Fridays, attended a workshop, or used the studio for open access - thanks for being...

  • Meet the Maker: 2023 Round Up!

    Meet the Maker: 2023 Round Up!

    What a fantastic array of makers we've had featured on our Meet the Maker blog this year. We've put together a round up for you with all of the wonderful advice our makers have given for creatives at any stage of their cre. . .
  • Mark Making - Using Resists

    Mark Making - Using Resists

    Using tools on your plate isn’t the only way you can create marks within an etching. You can also use resists to stop the mordant from reaching the surface of your plate. Resists can help achieve more subtle marks and washes, and they...
  • Meet the Maker: Sue Lewry

    Meet the Maker: Sue Lewry

    How and where did you learn to print? A decade ago, when I first stepped into a print workshop, I met print technician and artist India Ritchie, who taught me various printmaking methods while studying at Arts University in Plymouth. India taught me intaglio, relief, and screen print processes, giving me a well-rounded insight into print. The workshop became a playg. . .

  • Designing a Repeat Block by Hand

    Designing a Repeat Block by Hand

    Visualising what your design will look like when printed can be the hardest thing about designing a repeat pattern. We have a good method for sketching out your initial design to see how it will work when it is printed. For this project, we. . .
  • Easy Christmas Cards Six Ways

    Easy Christmas Cards Six Ways

    We’ve had a lot of fun this week working on easy, quick and fun ways to print your own Christmas cards! We’ve come up with six simple ways for you to try. Take a look at our instructions below and have a go yourself.   Bah Humbug Lino Printed Card This two-layered lino card is quick, …
  • Meet the Maker: Grace Gillespie

    Meet the Maker: Grace Gillespie

    Hello! I’m Grace Gillespie, a printmaker specialising in reduction linocuts and based in Bristol. Most days you will find me in my teeny home studio, adding layers of colour to my prints, thinking about future designs or working o. . .
  • Testing your Copper Sulphate Solution

    Testing your Copper Sulphate Solution

    When you’ve mixed a fresh batch of copper sulphate mordant, or if you have an old batch that you haven’t used for a few months, it’s good practice to test the strength of your solution. By creating some test strips for both line and tones, you’ll create yourself a reference point that you can use to help plan. . .

  • Screen Printing with Speedball Night Glo onto Fabric

    Screen Printing with Speedball Night Glo onto Fabric

    As Halloween fast approaches, it’s time to get those costumes ready. We think it’s a perfect opportunity to try out Speedball Night Glo Fabric Screen Printing Ink! Print glow in the dark Halloween messages, pictures, or even your kids’ spooky drawings onto their own costume...
  • Meet the Maker: Angie Lewin

    Meet the Maker: Angie Lewin

    I'm a printmaker working in linocut, wood engraving and silk screen. I also exhibit my watercolours and create collages of printed Japanese papers applied to objects collected on walking and sketching trips. In 2005, I set up St Jude's, along with my h. . .
  • Meet the Maker: Pia Bramley

    Meet the Maker: Pia Bramley

    I’m an artist, illustrator and printmaker. Having left London after a decade of city life I now live and work in The New Forest, squeezing in drawing and printing arou. . .
  • Pigment & Binder - Mixing colours for printing fabric

    Pigment & Binder - Mixing colours for printing fabric

    Using Pigment Colours and binder you can mix your own bespoke colours for screen printing and block printing. Experimenting with different amounts of binder to pigment can create some lovely...
  • Meet the Maker: Evelyn Polk

    Meet the Maker: Evelyn Polk

    I'm a full time abstract artist who primarily uses a range of printmaking techniques to make art and sometimes I mix it up a bit by adding paint or collage to my prints. I teach printmaking classes from my stud. . .
  • Creating Cyanotypes using the Speedball UV Lamp

    Creating Cyanotypes using the Speedball UV Lamp

    Cyanotypes are made using a really old process that uses a light sensitive solution to create designs on fabric and paper. Prints are typically created using direct sunlight. Unfortunately, this is something we don't get. . .
  • Meet the Maker: Hazel McNab

    Meet the Maker: Hazel McNab

    Hi I’m Hazel, I live in Cornwall. I moved down just before Covid, very lucky me! And spent lockdown cutting Cornish Landscapes and really getting into my printing. My background is. . .
  • Meet the Maker: Jennie Ing

    Meet the Maker: Jennie Ing

    Describe your printmaking process. I make linocut prints by the reduction method. This is where all the colours come from the same piece of lino with the successive cutting away of the lino block and printing a new colour over the top of the last. The edition size has to be decided at the beginning as there is no going back once the lino has been cut again and the whole edition must be completed a. . .

  • Mark Marking - Using Etching Tools

    Mark Marking - Using Etching Tools

    When you’ve degreased and prepared your plate for etching, there are a variety of tools you can use to mark into the surface. Any marks made into the surface of the grounds will expose your plate to the mordant. When etched, these marks will...

  • Meet the Maker: Caroline Whitehead

    Meet the Maker: Caroline Whitehead

    I’m a printmaker based in East London. For about eight years now, I’ve been obsessed with alternative forms of lithography (mokulito (wood litho), kitchen litho, prontoplate litho, waterless litho, gum transfer). I also make prints on clay. As well as making my own prints, I also teach mokulito and kit. . .
  • Collagraph Printing

    Collagraph Printing

    Collagraphy is a really versatile printing process in which a textured plate is inked up and put through a press. Different textures hold varying amounts of ink and print different tones. Anything with a low relief texture can be stuck down and used: wallpaper, leaves, fabrics, tapes and threads etc. The collagraph plate is …