Tuesday 24 December 2013

Merry Christmas!


It's our last day!

It's been a blast, but at 4pm today we'll be closing our doors forever!

We'd like to thank all of the printmakers and guest artists who were involved in making our vision for unique printing space and celebration of Bristol printmakers a reality, and all of you who have taken the time to visit us and share your enthusiasm for printing.

It's not too late to drop in today and have a look at some of the extraordinary prints and wares that our printmakers have to offer, so why not pop in and enjoy some festive cheer with us.

Friday 20 December 2013

New for Volume 4: BIRDS



ATTENTION BIRD LOVERS: You're in for a tweet.  If you're looking for something a little special, we're stocked full of beautiful birds of all shapes and sizes, and fun products for your bird loving friends.


1. Hand-printed wooden box | By Janes Ormes  £24.00
(Available in three different designs)


2Screen-printed bird tote bag | By Jill Spence  £9.50

3. Redwings & Fieldfares | By Christine Howes  £190.00


4Blackbird artist book | By Bronwyn Ward  £10.00


5Little bird chalkboard | By Carys Ink  £16.00

Thursday 19 December 2013

5 reasons why you should visit The Print Shop





5 days to go, and 5 reasons why you should visit The Print Shop in its final week.


Photograph by Made in Britain
1. Because we're not here for much longer!

As a pop-up (or temporary shop), it really is our last week, so if you haven't already been in, now's your chance!  The shop is still brimming with wonderful things by local makers.

Photograph by Dawn Cooper
2. You're in for a unique experience

We've had so much fun leading workshops and showing you how to print through different processes.  At the heart of our ethos is making and hand-printing things yourself, which is why you might be lucky enough to catch one of our printers hand-printing their items in a live shop demonstration - you could even buy them on the same day!


Photograph by Carys Ink
3. You can buy something genuinely different

Fed up with seeing the same things everywhere?  Want to buy something just a little bit different and special for your favourite people?  You've come to the right place!  With over 35 different Bristol makers and exclusively handmade and hand-printed goods, you're not likely to find our one of a kind items anywhere else.  And handmade presents are always appreciated!


Photograph by Love Local
4. It's time to shop local!

I couldn't have put it better myself, Bryony!  Bristol is brilliant, and it's becoming more and more important to support local makers and enrich our local art scene and economy.  So why not pick up something that has been handmade in Bristol by independent artists?  A heartfelt local purchase can go a long way.  What's more, you can meet the makers directly in the shop, and visit our fantastic neighbours, Paper, Scissors Stone and Made in Britain in the same square!

Photograph by Sophie Rae
5. Because we love having you in the shop.

A busy shop makes for happy printmakers.  It's been a joy meeting you all, and enjoying engaging conversations about your printmaking, and answering your questions about our artists and methods.  Come in and bring the festive cheer, and we'll make you feel very welcome!

Wednesday 18 December 2013

New for Volume 4: Finishing Touches



Not long to go now until Christmas, and our final day at The Print Shop on Christmas Eve!

Here are a couple more finishing touches to round off your Christmas interiors, or why not give one of Hannah's beautiful handmade stocking decorations as a stocking filler?


1Screen-printed tree decorations | By Lea Lloyd  £4.00


2Screen-printed reindeer bunting | By Kate Ingham  £8.00


3. Ceramic tree decorations | By Holly Drewett from £2.95


4. Handmade and screen-printed stocking decorations | By Hannah Postlethwaite  £4.50

Monday 16 December 2013

New for Volume 4: Finishing Touches



...I know!  We can't quite believe it either, but there's only a week to go before The Print Shop closes its doors for good at 4pm on Christmas Eve.

Luckily, there's still time to grab those all important purchases from our team of local printmakers.  For those of you lucky ones who've almost finished your Christmas shopping (we salute you), here are a few finishing touches, designed to finish your gifts in style...





1. Christmas gift bags | By Bella Barton from £2.00


2New Christmas gift tags | By Jill Spence


3New Christmas gift tags | By Carys Ink


4. Screenprinted Christmas gift tags | By Sophie Rae


5Super Christmas card | By Pirrip Press

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Christmas Cards Round-Up #3


It's that time again!  Not got your Christmas cards sorted yet?  Fear not!  We've got lots of lovely hand-printed beauties in stock, waiting to be snapped up.

1Kerry Day's plump Christmas robins  | 2. Louisa Woodworth's striking star design
3. A jolly skiing robin by Carys Ink | 4. A beautifully detailed bauble by Katy Christianson
5. A handome polar bear by  Elena Ortiz | 6. Pirrip Press' prancing deer

Watch this space for more hot picks from Volume 4 of The Print Shop!


Tuesday 10 December 2013

Spike Print Calendar: Amazing gift at the Print Shop

This Beautiful calendar is on sale at the shop and will certainly add class as the months roll on next year.

12 wonderful designs from 12 Spike Print Artists and the whole calendar is hand screen printed!

For more info or to have a look at this fine artifact pop down to the print shop! Open till the 24th December!



Monday 9 December 2013

On our wishlist...


We've put together a little festive wishlist this week, in four glorious shades of green!


1Julie Taylor | Butterfly notebook £5


2Pirrip Press | Pillowslip stocking £8.50



3Dawn Cooper | Cat postcards/mini prints £6.00


4Katy Christianson | Cubes tote bag £6.50




Sunday 8 December 2013

Meet The Printmaker: Bronwyn Ward



Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your workWhat sort of prints do you make?

Hi my name is Bronwyn and I am an ex-pat Aussie whos found herself in Bristol. Im a total closet twitcher and get far too excited about birds and animals in general. I create images of birds using relief printing techniques, usually carving them from wood with very small chisels.



Are you solely a printmaker or do you work in any other creative fields?

I treated myself this year to a very posh DSLR camera. I am trying to make it take the fantastic images I know its capable of, if only I was more capable! I mainly use it to photograph wildlife to use as inspiration for my printmaking. I also sew (badly) and love creating home-made things in general.





What is your earliest recollection of making a print and what made you to want to do more?

Potato stamps when I was little. I loved getting messy and - my husband will vouch - I still do. I still make my own Christmas paper every year with potato stamps and yes, I have been told I have too much time on my hands! I majored in printmaking at Art School in Melbourne many moons ago and have rediscovered it in recent years. Now I dont think I could stop if I wanted to, the cogs are turning all the time.



What inspires you and are there any themes or ideas that often run through your work?

I find my inspiration from nature and walking in the countryside. I spend a lot of time observing birds and their movement / behavior and try to translate this into my work. I read a bit of poetry as my attention span rarely gets me through big novels. I find theres often something that catches my imagination and an image comes from that.




Could you give us an insight into where you work your studio/workspace and where you print?

I work at Spike Print Studio, which I fell in love with when I first visited on an open day several years ago. Theres a lovely atmosphere of creative energy and calm contemplation which I love. Its both peaceful and supportive. I also work from home developing my images and sifting through my photographs to form the basis for my work.

The work of which other printmaker/s do you admire?

Probably Australian artists like Margaret Preston and Charles Blackman. I also admire many of the artists I work with at Spike, theres an awful lot of talent at our studio.

Printmaking is made up of lots of different processes, which aspect do you enjoy the most?  

For me I love working very meticulously when making a woodcut. I enjoy very detailed and precise cutting and use tiny chisels and often use a magnifying glass to make my marks. Theres something very soothing and calming about it. Maybe because Im a bit chaotic and messy in the rest of my life!



           
Do you have a favourite tool or something you find invaluable when printing?

I really love using Peter Reddicks old magnifying glass at the studio. I know it sounds silly, but Im quite sentimental and it makes me feel a little connected to the history of the place.

Can you share a little printing trick or secret with us ?

If you work under a magnifying glass and make a mistake, its usually very small and easier to cover up!!

How would you like to develop your printmaking skills in the future?

I would like to have a go at screen printing. I like the idea of working on fabric as I used to work in textile design.

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

Im not really one for magazines, damn my ipad!


Monochrome or multi-coloured?

Oooooh, can I say both?! I love lots of colour and the challenge of working with several blocks when making a print. Although theres something bold and dynamic about black and white which lends itself to relief printing that I also really like.

Thanks Bronwyn for these interesting leads into how you love to make your prints. It's been great to have your relief prints adding their lovely atmosphere and variety into the print shop along with your very lovingly made artist books.

Bronwyn's work will be with us at The Print Shop until we close on the 24th December, so don't miss out on your chance to see her work alongside our full range of excellent print works from all the traditional print methods. 

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

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


Friday 6 December 2013

Looking back to our botanical mono printing workshop

For anyone who missed last week's botanical mono printing workshop led by Katharina Nyilas, or wants to find out more, here are some colourful photographs to give you a taster of what can be achieved during the workshop.










Katharina will be holding another botanical mono printing workshop in February at Hamilton House. For more information, bookings or to sign up for her newsletter to keep up to date with workshops please email her at knyilas@yahoo.co.uk.