Introduction to Print

An exciting introduction to the world of printmaking for absolute beginners.

This 10-week course will give you a taster of several types of printmaking, allowing you to explore your creativity in a new medium and enjoy the physicality and spontaneity of printmaking. Time to roll up your sleeves and get inky!

OVER THE 10 WEEKS YOU WILL:

Learn about different printing processes – including monoprints, collagraphs, lino prints and drypoint - and be able to use tools safely and effectively.

Understand how to print plates with a variety of inks, papers and printing processes, and learn a range of techniques including combining plates, chine-collé and hand painting.

WEEK 1

Introduction to monoprint through exemplar work and demonstration. Explore the use of mark making, varying pressures, line thickness and wiping down plates. Learn about the materials needed to ink up a plate and how take a print by hand.

WEEK 2

Explore how to use paper masks and a variety of materials such as string, textured papers and fabrics and leaves and flowers to create a monoprint.

Explore how to use the printing press and learn how to ink up using your own unique colour palette to create a multicoloured print.

WEEK 3

Introduction to Linocut - learn how to make different marks with the carving tools through demonstration and how to create textures in a print. Using one to one support, develop a design for your print and learn through demonstration how to transfer your drawing onto the lino. Learn about the materials needed to ink up a plate and how take a print by hand.

WEEK 4

Learn about the reduction method and how to create a multicoloured print using one plate.

Experiment with the printing process with a focus on colour mixing through discussion. Experiment with the inking up and registration processes to create multiple prints.

WEEK 5

Introduction to Collagraphs. Explore how to create a relief collagraph plate using various tapes and textures and experiment with porous and nonporous surfaces. Develop a knowledge of inking up your plate using oil-based inks and gain an understanding of how to use the printing press.

WEEK 6

Learn about intaglio printmaking. Create a plate using mark making. Peel and tear the surface of your plate and add glue/paste/carborundum to the surface to create different tones and textures that will develop your prints. Gain an understanding of how to prepare your paper and how to ink up your plate.

WEEK 7

Introduction to Drypoint. Learn how to incise marks into your plate using etching needles to create hatching, cross-hatching, and directional marks. Develop your own designs with one-to-one support with an emphasis on mark making and tonal values. Learn, through demonstration, how take a print from your plate using the printing press.

WEEK 8

Develop an understanding how to create a series of prints through example work, discussion, and demonstration. Explore the technique a Chine-collé through demonstration and how to apply it to your own prints. Learn how to create a multicoloured print.

WEEK 9

Choose one of the printing techniques you have learnt about and develop your skills using your own images and ideas. Explore your own colour palette and experiment with the printing process with the possibility of combining plates.

WEEK 10

Consolidate learning, revisit prints and plates and experiment with ways to hand colour prints and explore the use of collage with misprints to create a unique artwork.

Tutor Jo Shearer is an artist and art educator living and working in Leicestershire. Her belief is that art is for everyone. It is another language for expressing and communicating our experiences, thoughts and emotions which often reflect the world around us and how we fit into it. Art can demonstrate a tremendous level of skill and be aesthetically pleasing; however, the greatest strength is in its capacity to express and unite people. Jo studied Visual BA (Hons) Arts and English Literature and a PGCE in secondary art. She taught in schools and colleges in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire for over 10 years.

After leaving mainstream education she continued her love of teaching through tutoring and went on to develop workshops like this one. She enjoys the freedom to work in a variety of media and has an ever-increasing love for print. She enjoys nurturing creativity and developing individuals' skills to build confidence in their own work as well as evoking a sense of calm and release of emotions through the process of making. Her personal work explores the spaces that we inhabit, the collection of experiences and emotions that connect us to a place and the inherent beauty of the natural world in all its forms.

This 10-week course will run on Tuesday afternoons, 1:30pm - 4pm, starting on 23 September 2025, with the final session on 2 December 2025.

PLEASE NOTE: no session 21 October 2025 (half term break).

All materials and equipment will be provided. Please come in old clothes and/or bring an apron as printing can get messy!

Participants must be aged 14+. Under 18s must be accompanied by a paying adult at all times.

If the course/workshop you’d like to book is sold out, we do operate a waiting list - simply contact our box office team on / and ask to be added to the waiting list. We’ll then contact you if a place becomes available, with absolutely no obligation to accept it if you’ve made other plans!

Please ensure that you agree to our updatedTERMS & CONDITIONS before booking as courses/workshops are non-refundable in some circumstances.

We aim to make all our sessions as accessible as possible and carers/PAs are very welcome - just remember to book their free place when you book your session. If you'd like to talk to us in advance of booking or attending your sessions to discuss your access needs, our Box Office team is here to help! Email, pop in or call, open 7 days a week.

We have four blue badge parking spaces outside Attenborough Arts Centre, plus double yellow line roadside parking very close to the building for blue badge holders for up to three hours if our parking spaces are occupied.

FREE PARKING FOR ALL CUSTOMERS IS AVAILABLE AFTER 5PM ON WEEKDAYS AND ALL DAY AT WEEKENDS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER CAR PARK NEXT DOOR TO ATTENBOROUGH ARTS CENTRE ON LANCASTER ROAD.
The closest public car park for parking at all other times is Victoria Park, 5-10 minutes walk from us (near De Montfort Hall).