Name: 8 week intro to printmaking
Start: 2025-10-07T18:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-10-07T21:00:00+01:00
Location: Centrespace Studios

8-Week Intro to Printmaking Course
Led by Jemma Gunning at the Bristol Print Collective Studio, Centrespace, Bristol
All materials provided | Open to all abilities
Join us for a captivating 8-week journey into the world of printmaking. This course is designed for beginners and those looking to refresh their skills in a relaxed, supportive environment. Each fortnight will focus on a new printmaking technique—monoprint, relief, collagraph, and drypoint—encouraging creative exploration and play. Whether you're a curious beginner or an experienced maker looking to experiment, this course will offer inspiration, guidance, and hands-on learning.
Weeks 1–2: Monoprinting – Spontaneity & Expression
Begin your printmaking journey with the fluid and experimental process of monoprinting. Explore additive and subtractive methods, stencil use, and direct drawing onto the plate. These sessions embrace chance and experimentation, inviting you to play with mark-making and texture to produce bold, one-of-a-kind prints.
Weeks 3–4: Relief Printing – Carving Your Voice
Get hands-on with linocut techniques and explore the expressive possibilities of relief printing. Learn how to carve your design, experiment with texture and tools, and print by hand. We’ll explore various mark-making styles and layering techniques, helping you to develop your visual language and build confidence with the process.
Weeks 5–6: Collagraph – Texture & Surface
Dive into the tactile world of collagraph printing. Learn how to create plates using textured materials and found objects, building surfaces that invite inky exploration. Emphasis will be on layering, discovery, and the joy of unexpected results as you print from your handmade plates.
Weeks 7–8: Drypoint – Line & Intimacy
Conclude the course with drypoint—a beautiful intaglio technique that captures the directness of the hand. Learn how to scratch and etch into plastic plates, ink them up, and print using an etching press. This process allows for rich, expressive lines and prints full of character.
Details:
Duration: 8 weeks
Please note that there is no session on the 28th October due to half term.
Location: Centrespace Studios, Bristol Print Collective’s Studio
Tutor: Jemma Gunning – artist-printmaker, educator, and RWA Academician
All materials provided
Suitable for all skill levels, from beginners to those looking to refresh or expand their practice.