Mark Making Through Printmaking

About this experience

Mark-Making Through Printmaking

4 Week Course – Thursdays 4th June – 25th June £120 for 4 weeks 

Join us for this four-week printmaking course exploring drawing, mark-making and experimental print processes in a relaxed and supportive studio environment at Rock Paper Scissors.

Across the four sessions you will develop your drawing skills through observation, play and experimentation before translating your marks into two printmaking techniques: monoprint and drypoint.

The course is very process-led, giving participants the freedom to explore their own ideas while learning traditional printmaking techniques. By the end of the course you will have produced a series of drawings and experimental prints, building confidence in both drawing and printmaking.

Rock Paper Scissors runs a wide range of creative workshops designed to share skills, inspire creativity and connect people through making.

Session 1 – Drawing Through Seeing

Session 1 – Drawing Through Seeing

The first session focuses on observation and experimental drawing.

If the weather is good then we will use the wonderful backdrop of Canterbury, exploring and visiting key sites and developing your observational location drawing skills that can act as your subject matter for sessions 2, 3 and 4.

If the weather is not so kind please bring an object that holds precious memories and experiences. We will explore what the object holds for you through a series of exercises.

You will be introduced to a wide range of drawing tools and media — including creating your own drawing tools — and you will explore new ways of looking and responding through mark-making.

Through playful guided exercises we will explore:

• Expressive mark-making


• Line, tone and texture


• Scale and form


• What defines a drawing

These exercises help build confidence in drawing while exploring how different tools and materials influence the marks we make.

Session 2 – Monoprint (Monotype)

Monotype is a flexible and liberating printmaking process, perfect as an introduction to printmaking.

During this session you will explore two monoprint approaches:

Indirect Drawing
Creating tonal and linear drawings through monotype printing techniques.

Monotype Painting
Producing expressive, painterly prints using colour, gesture and texture.

You will experiment with layering and registration techniques to create a series of expressive prints.

Session 3 – Drypoint

Drypoint is a linear intaglio printmaking technique where images are scratched directly into a plate.

Using a range of tools you will create marks, lines and textures in the surface of a plate before inking and printing it.

This process produces beautifully rich, tactile lines and allows you to explore detailed linear imagery.

Session 4 – Mixed Media Printmaking

In the final session we will combine both techniques.

You will create mixed media prints by layering monoprint textures and tonal grounds with drypoint line work. We will also explore collage techniques such as chine collé to add depth and detail.

Skill Level

Suitable for complete beginners or those with some experience who would like to refresh their printmaking skills.

No previous printmaking experience is required.

Materials

All materials will be provided.

Some oil-based inks and solvents may be used during the workshop, but low-toxicity alternatives will also be available.

What You Will Achieve

By the end of the course you will:

• Develop confidence in observational drawing


• Learn monoprint and drypoint printmaking techniques


• Produce a series of experimental and editioned prints


• Learn how to translate drawing and mark-making into print


• Gain the skills to continue exploring printmaking in open studio sessions