Reduction Linocut - Intermediate / Advanced Level - 2 day workshop

The mind-boggling art of printing several colours by re-carving the same plate several times

Please contact me to enquire about availability

This advanced 2-day workshop is designed for students who have already attended a multiblock workshop, or those who have already attempted layering colours in linocut and are fairly confident at carving (you will need to carve and recarve your block several times with relative ease and speed). The reduction method is the most complicated technique you will encounter in linocut, and this is decidedly not for the fainthearted. This workshop will show you all the tips and tricks to make reduction printing easier. You'll work with about 15 prints, many of which will become 'test' prints as you trial each new layer, and if you are lucky there will be a handful of successful prints at the end. This course is very much designed to teach you the reduction printing technique rather than producing a perfect print at the end.  

In this 2-day workshop, you will be guided through designing and planning a 3-4 layer reduction print, creating a master sketch, making a registration system, carving and recarving for each layer, and printing a complex multicolour linocut image.You'll plan, sketch, register, carve and print the first 1-2 layers on the first day, and then the prints dry in my studio for a few days before you come back for a second day to carve and print the remaining layers.

The workshop is designed to teach you the techniques for reduction printing with plenty of time for experimentation and asking questions, so that you will leave with skills to take your own printmaking practice further. You will take home all the prints and the remains of the block you have carved.  [*I will not provide any tools to take home*]

What you'll use: 
- traditional art lino,  10cm square, A6 or A5 size
- carving tools (Pfeil, Japanese, flexcut)
- soft and hard brayers
- professional oil-based inks
- extender (to create translucent ink)
- printmaking papers
- a Victorian cast-iron book press and a Woodzilla lever press
- hand printing equipment - bone folders, wooden spoons, bamboo barens
- greyboard and mountboard to make a registration system
- Ternes-Burton registration pins and tabs
- material to make printing masks
- honing devices

What this course includes: 

• friendly tuition in a homely environment
• all materials needed to make a successful reduction print 
• tea, fresh coffee and biscuits / mince pies throughout the workshop
• an extensive information sheet on linocut equipment and suppliers

What to bring: 

• Please wear old clothes that you don't mind getting inky (or an old apron).
• You may wish to bring a packed lunch - fridge / microwave / cutlery can be provided. 
• You are very welcome to bring your own designs / sketches - simple black & white images work best. 
• If you already own carving tools you can bring these along if you want to learn new skills with familiar tools.

The Practicalities: 

Days: weekdays and occasionally Saturdays - we'll arrange two days to suit, usually with at least a week between dates so that the first layers can dry before the next ones are put on.

Maximum Group size: 3

Time: 10am - 4pm

Location:  central Maidstone, Kent (address will be provided upon booking)
Parking: Free parking on the road (please allow time to find parking spaces).  
Refreshments: Tea / coffee / biscuits provided throughout the workshop. Please bring your own lunch.