Relief Tester & Refresher

We invite you to try you hand at a new craft or to refresh dormant printmaking skills. Relief printmaking (aka block printing) is graphic, versatile, and timeless. It can be as simple as geometric stamps used to create repeat patterns or as nuanced and complex as your ambitions. In this workshop, students will plan, carve, and print from a 4” x 6” linoleum block.

Students will learn how to visualize and create a design that will stylistically work well as a relief print. Students move through each step of the relief process from project planning to image transfer to how to select the right gouge, hold the gouge, and carving an image in reverse. Using ink, brayers, presses, and a variety of papers, everyone will produce an edition of prints from their block. Final prints can take the form of wall art or note cards.

Students with intermediate experience are encouraged to use the last hours to address questions related to setting up the press, multiple plate registration, planning more complex plates, even and consistent inking, etc.