Block Printing workshop - cutting your own simple pattern and playing with design using natural printing paste

Description

Join me for this creative introduction to printmaking, a wonderful activity hosted in my home studio near Eastleigh.(lifts can be arranged from the train station) Together, we will discuss our relationship with pattern and colour, looking at examples of textiles, photographs, and books for inspiration. This workshop is a fantastic opportunity to slow down, connect with your creative side, and learn a new skill in a beautiful setting. I will guide you as you learn how to carve your own simple design into lino. Once your block is ready, you will have the chance to 'play' with it, experimenting by turning, repeating, and overlapping the pattern to see what beautiful compositions you can create. During this hands-on workshop, you will: Learn how to carve a design in lino mounted on wood Experiment with different printing patterns Print your design on a handloom Indian cotton scarf We will be using natural dye pastes made from Madder and Cutch to print your unique design onto a handloom Indian cotton scarf. I keep the class sizes small, so there will be plenty of time for questions, chatting, and simply stopping to drink tea. You will leave this session not just with your beautiful, hand-printed scarf, but with a renewed sense of creativity and the skills to continue your printmaking practice, altering your perception of pattern and design. Please note: Public dates for this class require at least 2 guests to run. In the unlikely event that we don't reach this number, we'll cancel the class; in this case we'll inform you and allow you to get a refund or reschedule, so please watch your email/SMS one day prior to the class.

What's included in the price?

Refreshments Materials Scarf to be printed and taken home

Cancellation policy

Easy - Cancellation and a full refund can be obtained up to 2 weeks before the course starts

Maker

Lucy Pick

with Craft Courses since 2025

Message the tutor

I am a textile designer working solely with natural dyes, using my own block prints and stencils to create my patterns. I then use my fabrics to make one off quilted wall hangings or other textile pieces. My background is embedded in painting and fine art but 6 years ago I fell in love with the British craft revival movement, epitomised by the work of Barron and Larcher in the 1930s. I love the combination of natural dyes and the palette of the British countryside combined with my own modernist aesthetic of angles, hardlines and repetition. I encourage my students to challenge themselves to see pattern in everything around them and consider the emotional connection we have to colour. I propagate a dye garden in the New Forest where I grow some wonderful dye plants which are used in my own work and workshops, supplementing foraged materials or prunings. I was awarded the Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) fund by the Arts Council which allowed me work with specialists in their fields, and to travel to India and learn more about the art of block cutting and natural dyeing. Since returning I now practice my making full time, combined with teaching workshops both from the dye garden and different venues across Hampshire.