The Print Shop has a range of workshops on offer this autumn to keep you inspired and creative as the cold weather and long nights draw in.  Refresh your printmaking and craft skills, or learn something new.  We explain some of the print terminology to give you an idea of what's currently on offer.

Etching is an intaglio technique, in which a drawing is created on a sheet of metal (usually copper, zinc or steel) coated with a thin acid resistant layer, with a sharp tool.  The plate is then immersed in a bath of acid which 'bites' or etches away the metal in the areas exposed by the drawing.

Once the design has been etched to a sufficient depth, the acid resistant layer is cleaned off, and ink is rubbed into the lines of the design, before being wiped clean.  A sheet of dampened paper is placed over the plate, which is then fed through a printing press to apply pressure.  This causes the ink to be pulled out of the incised lines and onto the paper, creating the platemark.

Take a look at Gilly Thompson and Liz Bath's Introduction to Etching workshop, taking place on Friday 1 November.

Monoprinting can take many forms, but in basic terms, is a single impression of an image which can only be printed once. It can be made in a number of ways, such as using a metal etching plate, a litho stone, a wooden block, or using paint or collage. 

Sophie Rae, one of our featured printmakers, creates mono prints by sketching, hand cutting paper stencils, and using a roller to mix her vibrant oil-based inks, before applying the inked stencils to her images, and creating lots of depth and layers with graduating tones.

Sophie will be teaching her individual monoprinting technique in her workshop on Wednesday 30 October.  Click here for more details.

Paper cutting is the art of cutting paper designs (using scalpels and other cutting tools), but can be broadly applied to a number of different applications and styles.  It has evolved uniquely all over the world to adapt to different cultures.

Sarah Dennis, who has joined Volume 3 of The Print Shop to teach others the way of her craft, creates designs inspired by Chinese paper cutting, nature and her childhood.  Her work combines traditional collage with contemporary techniques to create a bold unique and stylised imagery that's bursting with charm.

You can find out more details about her workshop on Thursday 31 October by clicking here.

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

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Sun 11am - 5pm