Monday 30 September 2013

Launch of Volume 3

This Wednesday we will be launching Volume 3 of The Print Shop. Featuring some familiar faces, but with a whole host of new print-makers from Drawn in Bristol and Spike Print Studio.

Click here to see who'll be taking part in Volume 3.

All are welcome to attend the launch event on Wednesday 5-9pm. Click here for details.

Please note: The Print Shop will be closed from today til Wednesday evening, while we change over the artwork.

Saturday 28 September 2013

Meet the Printmaker - Charlotte Farmer


Charlotte Farmer screen printing at Spike Island Print Studios
Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work…What sort of prints do you make? 
I'm Charlotte Farmer – Illustrator & screenprinter with a love of gold and fluroescent.

What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want to do more?
My first print was made while I was doing an art foundation course. The print department was on the top floor of the foundation building, it smelt great and was where all the cool kids in their Black Flag T-shirts seemed to be. Once I peeled back the paper on my first print (a linocut of a chair) there was no going back – I went on to a fine art degree specializing in printmaking where I got hooked on screen printing...

What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work? 
I love drawing grumpy looking animals and my cat Margo makes regular appearances. But I have branched out into more exotic creatures in my recent work. I like to imagine what thoughts or conversations all the aniamls (or whatever else I've been drawing) might be having. I think titles are really important as they can influence how people see your work.



Could you give us an insight into where you work – your studio/workspace and where you print? 
I print at the very fabulous Spike Print Studio, an amazing space with interesting people to talk to which is good because the rest of my time is spent home alone drawing.

The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire? 
I've always been a big fan of Robert Rauschenberg's screenprints and David Hockney's Rake's Progress etchings. Closer to home I like Luice Sheridan, Jane Ormes and Anna Marrow's work – Anna and I both went through the rigors of a St Martins MA (they tried to stop us printing!)
They all draw brilliantly, use great colour combinations and there is always an element of humour or something that makes you wonder what is going on.

Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect do you enjoy the most?
The way the last colour makes all the other, seemingly random blobs of colour make sense...that's if it's all worked out ok.

Bananas
Can you share a little printing trick or secret with us ? 
It doesn't fit in with the image of an artist but you have to be ridiculously organised when you're screen printing, if you're not it can easily all go horribly wrong.

How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future? 
I like embossing – and always mean to do more.

Which printed publication do you most look forward to thumbing through? 
Wrap magazine

Monochrome or multi-coloured? 
Both and gold and fluroescent.


Thanks Charlotte. We love the playfulness of you work and the assortment of colours that you use so well together.

Charlotte Farmer's work is currently featured in the second volume of The Print Shop, which finishes this Sunday, but don't worry, she'll also be in Volume 3 too! So get yourself down there to see the selection of work she has on display, including greetings cards, mounted prints and framed pieces on a lovely display wall. Also remember to put Wednesday 2nd October in you diaries for the launch of the new exciting Volume 3!


The Print Shop
Unit 6
Quakers Friars
Cabot Circus
Bristol
BS1 3BU

Open Daily
Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm

Wednesday 25 September 2013

WORKSHOP: Paper Cutting with Sarah Dennis

Artist: Sarah Dennis 
Paper Cutting
£25 per workshop 
Max 8 students (min 4).
24th October, 6:30 to 9.30 pm (beginners class)
31st October, 6.30 to 9.30pm (advanced class)

Discover the world of paper cutting with Sarah Dennis, a Bristol-based freelance artist whose work combines traditional scherenschnitte (paper cutting) with collage. 
In the workshop you will learn the fundamental techniques and tricks for creating artwork with only a craft knife and paper. You will also get to appreciate the calming process of paper cutting and the dramatic aesthetic effect that the medium offers. You will be introduced to the tools and methods used by paper cut artists through the ages and you will learn how to make your own paper cut artwork using the rules of negative and positive space. 
If you would like to take your skills a step further or you have prior experience with paper cutting, the advanced class will teach you how to develop your own design further by adding layers, depth and colours to create your own bespoke paper artwork.
To book a place please email printshopbristol@gmail.com

WORKSHOP: Intro to Lino with John Lynch

Artist: John Lynch 
Intro to Linocut
£60, including Equipment
Max 8 students (min 4).
2 sessions on 16th & 23rd October, 6:30 to 9pm.

This workshop will introduce you to the art of relief printing.
Using Japanese cutting tools you will create single colour prints from a Lino plate.
You will learn the basics of lino-cutting and hand burnishing techniques which will add
tone and texture to your work.
By the end of the 2 sessions you will be able to continue printing from home without the
need of expensive equipment.

To book a place please email printshopbristol@gmail.com

Tuesday 24 September 2013

WORKSHOP: Intro to Etching with Gilly Thompson & Liz Bath












Artist: Gilly Thompson & Liz Bath
Intro to Etching
£30 including materials
Max 8 students (min 4)
1st November 6 to 9pm

Discover an easy, inexpensive, and chemical free approach to intaglio printmaking. Convert your drawings into a drypoint image and print them using a traditional etching press.
What to expect:
- Learn how to use an etching needle to create a drypoint image.
- Become familiar with the intaglio method of printing.

- Experiment with an inked plate to achieve different tonal effects.

- Register and print your artwork onto etching paper.

All materials are provided.
Please bring a apron, sketchbooks or images to work from.
To book a place please email printshopbristol@gmail.com


WORKSHOP: Mono-Printing with Sophie Rae














Artist: Sophie Rae
Mono Printing with Stencils
Max Group Size 8 ( Min 4)
£25 per workshop
9th October, 6 to 9pm
30th October, 6 to 9pm

www.sophie-rae.com

Sophie Rae has a BA (Hons) degree in Illustration from The Arts University Bournemouth.

Sophie has developed her own unique way of printmaking. After sketching out her designs she carefully cuts them into stencils. Then she mixes her oil-based inks to create beautiful colours.

The stencils are placed onto the paper and a roller is used to apply the ink through the gaps, gradually building up layers of shapes until the image is complete.

In this Workshop the group will learn how to make a set of five greeting cards or a larger print using Sophie's mono printing technique.


To book a place please email printshopbristol@gmail.com

Friday 20 September 2013

Meet the Printmaker - Christine Howes


Christine at work
Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work…What sort of prints do you make?
My name is Christine Howes and my art is based on my love of natural history and landscape. I like to create intimate scenes of wildlife in its habitat in the English countryside. I rarely run out of inspiration.

A wood engraving of St John the Baptist, Churchill, Somerset. This print is very small, 10 cms x 8 cms and typical of wood engravings which are printed from a woodblock made from hard end grain wood

Oystercatchers, detail. A woodcut and a linocut block are printed together to create this image
Are you solely a printmaker or do you work in any other creative fields?
I am not solely a printmaker as I also paint and draw in other mediums;- watercolours, acrylics, oils and soft pastels. I studied Graphic Design and Illustration for five years. I was an illustrator in publishing for about twenty five years, using watercolour and gouache and working on children’s non fiction books and magazines.

What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want to do more?
I made a few prints at Filton Technical College in Bristol, which I attended at the age of sixteen. I tried Lithography and Silkscreen. I enjoyed the technical challenges of printing, which I also experienced at Art College at Kingston upon Thames where I learned typography.

Could you give us an insight into where you work – your studio/workspace and where you print?
In 2001 I attended classes at Spike Print Studio in relief Printmaking with Peter Reddick R E. It was a great chance to learn from a real master. I now work on three types of relief prints; woodcuts, linocuts and wood engravings. I print them at Spike Print Studio but often design and carve them at home where I have my own studio but no press.
It is great to meet other printmakers and to work alongside them. I now also regularly teach an eight week course in relief printmaking at Spike Print Studio. And I run some workshops for children at the RWA. It is important that skills are passed on to the next generation.

What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work?
I select subjects from observation, drawing frequently from life and from exhibits at Bristol museum. I sketch outside and take my own reference photos. I begin with small, thumbnail sketches to work out the composition. Then I look for a suitable piece of wood or decide on lino or vinyl which I like using. Printmaking has been good for my art as it forces me to be spare with detail and colours. You have to make choices within the print as each colour is printed separately. The most colours I have used on any one print is five. This takes time and patience.

Seagulls, Woodcut
Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect do you enjoy the most?
I like all aspects of printmaking except the cleaning up! But the most wonderful thing is being able to print an edition of twenty or more, so that the work becomes more affordable for people to buy.

The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire?
The printmakers I admire are Samuel Palmer, Robin Tanner and Peter Reddick. I enjoy connecting with printing traditions that go way back to Thomas Bewick and the early printing presses.

How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future?
My goals are to expand my skills in printmaking with wood and to try to create sublety within a hard-edged medium. It is an endless and fascinating challenge.


Thanks Christine. We love your mark making especially in the wood engraving of St John the Baptist.

Christine Howes' work is currently featured in the second volume of The Print Shop, which runs until September 29th. If you can swing by the shop you will be able to see the work from some of the best printmakers local to Bristol. Each artist has a unique style and there are many different printing processes that are used to create everything in the pop up shop. 


The Print Shop
Unit 6
Quakers Friars
Cabot Circus
Bristol
BS1 3BU

Open Daily
Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Meet the Printmaker - Lee Kellgren



Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work…What sort of prints do you make?
My name is Lee and I am a printmaker mostly working in etching.

Are you solely a printmaker or do you work in any other creative fields?
I used to work in computer graphics but was always interested in natural textures and colours.

What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want to do more?
When we moved to Bristol many years ago I went back to art classes at Queen’s Road  and started  exploring printmaking and my first series of prints were about  the extraordinary 18C coaching inn we had moved into.

What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work?  
My  artwork is  usually about trying to capture a  place/moment. People who have bought my work have used the following descriptions :
Peaceful – Recollection/memory -  suspended moment of time -  a  deeply significant place – delicate – melancholy- deserted.


Could you give us an insight into where you work – your studio/workspace and where you print?
I  make prints in the lovely etching studio that looks onto the river at Spike Print Studio.


The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire?
The  painterly etched  landscapes by Norman Ackroyd

Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect do you enjoy the most?  
Peeling back the  wet paper from the press bed  to see the first print from a plate.  Did it work?  Did the process add more than expected?

Do you have a favourite tool or something you find invaluable when printing?
Deep pockets for tools and stuff in a big apron covered in ink stains!

Can you share a little printing trick or secret with us?
You don’t need a lot of expensive tools for etching- I use a knitting needle to draw into the wax ground on a printing plate.


How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future?
I would like to work on a larger scale  and make more immersive images using aluminium etching. As an art medium, I enjoy the creative challenges within the technical boundaries that etching provides.

Thanks Lee. We love the range of different processes you use and the moments you capture in your work.

Lee Kellgren's work is currently featured in the second volume of The Print Shop, which runs until September 29th. She has work framed on our lovely wall packed full of beautiful hand printed delights and in the print racks which you can browse through to find prints ranging from fifteen pounds to a few hundred pounds. 


The Print Shop
Unit 6
Quakers Friars
Cabot Circus
Bristol
BS1 3BU

Open Daily
Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm

Sunday 15 September 2013

Meet The Printmaker- Chitra Merchant


Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work…What sort of prints do you make?
I grew up in India and I currently work as a printmaker in Bristol, U.K. After completing a B.A Degree in Psychology, I left India to work for a year in an artist's studio in West Africa. I came to England in the early nineties and completed a B.A (Hons) Degree in Illustration from U.W.E Bristol ('98). In 2001, I based myself at Spike Print Studio where I print, exhibit and work to commission on a regular basis.
Are you solely a printmaker or do you work in any other creative fields?
I occasionally make Artist's Books and dabble in animation.

What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want to do more?
I was first introduced to print during a module on my Illustration degree and I haven't stopped investigating it since!
What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work?
Much of my work is strongly informed by my Indian upbringing. I use ancient Indian historical sites as a starting point from which to develop imaginal structures that take on a life and logic of their own. In other bodies of work,  I am interested in examining the roles and expectations that are ascribed to women. A love of drawing always forms the starting point of any work. These drawings may be made on site (whether at an ancient eastern ruin or an urban western city site) or painted directly onto a screen to form a stencil. I'm inspired by the writings of Blake, the poetry of 12th and 13th century poet seers ( Rumi, Kabir, Mirabai and Hafiz) to name a few.
Could you give us an insight into where you work – your studio/workspace and where you print?
I enjoy the sociable and unpretentious nature of working in a large shared print studio (Spike Print) with its numerous tea and biscuit breaks (vital aids to the creative process!). Printmakers are by and large a very generous group who are willing to share techniques and discuss ideas.

The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire?
Paula Rego, WIlliam Blake, Marilene Oliver, Graeme Todd, Hughie O Donoghue, Anne Desmet,  Katherine Jones, Peter Doig (painter).

Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect do you enjoy the most?
I absolutely enjoy all parts of it; from the initial drawings, through to experimenting and proofing and finally the labour of editioning.

Do you have a favourite tool or something you find invaluable when printing?
Lascaux screen filler. Its a favourite, but not very forgiving to work with!
Its a great way creating a stencil by painting directly onto the screen mesh. I enjoy the immediacy of this process, though it can go horribly wrong too!

Can you share a little printing trick or secret with us ?
Mr Muscle! Its the only thing that removes the above screen filler off the mesh. (Coupled with a really good jet washer.)
How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future?
Part of my process involves turning all techniques on its head to see what treasure or disaster might be revealed. I'd like to carry on this way.

Which printed publication do you most look forward to thumbing through
Printmaking Today & A-N magazine. And written works by Marion Woodman, Edward Edinger, Robert Bly, Robert Johnson, Rilke, Basho and Thomas Transtromer.

Monochrome or multi-coloured?
Colour of course!

Thanks for those great answers Chitra! your work is truly amazing. We can't get enough of your colour work!

Chitra will be at the print shop for the rest of volume 2 and her prints are a must see, the scale and composition of these prints are an inspiration for all and a highly desirable addition for any collector. 



 The Print Shop
Unit 6
Quakers Friars
Cabot Circus
Bristol
BS1 3BU

Open Daily
Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm 










Friday 13 September 2013

Meet the Printmaker - Alice Rolfe



 Alice Rolfe prints onto textiles and paper. Here you can see her sporting one of her wonderful t-shirts. Read on to hear about her processes and life as a printmaker in Bristol....

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work…
What sort of prints do you make?
I’m Alice Rolfe from Rolfe&Wills – a Bristol based Print and Upholstery company. I screen print our designs on to homewears, clothing, a variety of papers and fabric which Chloe Wills uses to upholster furniture.


What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want to do more?
From the age of about 6 I did printing workshops with family friends who were artists.  We screen printed using stencils, and etched – taking the plate out into the countryside or the beach and drawing what we saw.  I fell in love with the process – each step just as important as the last, and each step impacting the look your final piece. It was so much fun, I was hooked!


What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work?
Primarily I’m interested in colour.  I love layering and blending colours to see what comes out.  I use a lot of fluorescent colours against a neutral back drop – it really pops out and creates a bold statement. I like to let the colours do the work and keep the designs simple.

Could you give us an insight into where you work – your studio/workspace and where you print?
Currently I print at Drawn in Bristol’s space at Hamilton House.  It’s been absolutely fantastic, meeting fellow artists and keeping it affordable.  I wouldn’t have been able to grow the business with out it… But as the business has grown so fast in just over a year, it’s time to move on and have my stock, printing table, and desk all in one place, so I’m currently converting a garage in Easton into a studio space.  It’s a massive space and therefore a massive project but I’m hoping to move in there by mid September.  I’ll miss the space at Hamilton House, but I’ll be renting out spaces in the new studio, so hopefully there will be a creative vibe there also.


The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire?
I’m always drawn to Lizzy Cox’s work, a screen printer who lived in Somerset – her work is unique and some of the most beautiful I’ve seen. She would take a printing kit out into the fields and document the plants by printing onto them.  I think about this a lot and am sure they will influence my ideas in the future.

Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect do you enjoy the most?
Well, it’s got to be the big reveal! How is it going to come out… It makes me nervous and excited every time – no wonder I’m totally exhausted after a day of printing! It’s a very emotional process as well as physical.

Can you share a little printing trick or secret with us?
Hummm well a lot of people ask me how to get the blended technique – but I’m not sure I should tell you...? It’s actually very simple, you just need all the colours on the screen at a time, and a steady hand.


How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future?
I’m still at the very early stages of my printing career – I don’t really consider myself as a professional printer yet as I still have so much to learn.  Every time I print I learn something new, and I’ve probably only mastered about two techniques out of about 300…. So it’s a life long thing really.  I guess I just want to get better – more accurate – more experiential. 

Which printed publication do you most look forward to thumbing through?
I have a few books ‘The Drawing Book’ by Tania Kovats – my old tutor, and a book of ‘Rachel Whitereads Drawings’ are two of my faves I love to brows through.  I have a slight wayward rout to a final idea – colourless drawings seem to inspire my brightly coloured prints…????

Monochrome or multi-coloured?
For me… My prints – super multi coloured all the way!

Thanks Alice, we love the colours you use and the range of products that your designs can be found on. 

Alice Rolfe's work is currently featured in the second volume of The Print Shop, which runs until September 29th. If you can, please do pop by the shop to see all our printmakers' work for real... the computer images never really does their work justice!

 The Print Shop
Unit 6
Quakers Friars
Cabot Circus
Bristol
BS1 3BU

Open Daily
Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm