Get Ready For Your Print Your Own Christmas Cards Workshop

Get ready to create linocut prints, learning something that is the beginning of so many possibilities!

This workshop will give you a good, solid introduction to carving and printing linocut images, with a Christmas theme.

You will learn about carving and printing your block onto cards.

I will share tips and explain the process; and detail the range of tools and equipment, across a range of budgets, that you can buy and source yourself to keep you printing at home.

We will be working with sharp, good quality carving tools. I will provide demonstration and instruction on the use of these tools safely, and it will expected that you follow instruction and take care while using them.

We will be printing with water-based printmaking inks. No chemical clean up, just fresh water. But ink on clothes will stain.

Please wear closed, comfortable shoes and comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting ink on. Bring a studio apron if you have one.

You will be given a lino block approx A5 (14cm x 20cm) to carve then print onto blank Christmas cards. The cards fold to an A6 size (10.5cm x 14.8cm). Please refer to the next toggle tab for more information about the size of the cards you will be working with.

You can bring your own image to carve and print, and I will have A LOT of Christmas reference on hand for you to choose from.

If you have an image or design in mind, bring a drawing or printout of it along with you on the day – at the size you want to print it:

• card front – to fit within 10.5cm x 14.8cm
• if you want to print a design that prints on the front and back of the card, print your image to fit within 14cm x 20cm, taking note of the area of your image that will be the front of the card.

Keep your drawing/image simple. Below are some tips and comments about bringing your own design to the workshop:

• carving outlines, keylines, narrow lines and fine details requires skill and time so keep detail to a minimum
• carving is the most time consuming part of the process, so the simpler the image is to carve, the more likely you will be to finish your block and print. Scroll down the page to see examples of past students work
• carving a simple image will also give you time to experiment and play with some of my own linocut blocks – you can print them with your own linocut block, time permitting
• when I learn a new process I prefer to copy an image, that way I can focus on the process and not worry too much about the image itself. I have a lot of reference images that you can copy.

You are welcome to email me with your image ideas before the workshop and we can talk through how appropriate the image is (regarding complexity) for this workshop.

But fear not if you are a little stuck for inspiration as I will have plenty of suitable images and ideas on hand for you to use and reference.

Scroll down the page to see work past students have printed in this workshop.

The images below detail the size of the cards you will be working with. They are a standard A6 size (when folded).

Below you can see the size of the cards when folded and when open flat:

You have the option to design and print your card in either a PORTRAIT or LANDSCAPE orientation:

The size of the linoblock you will be given to carve is approx 14cm x 20cm. That means you can carve and print a design for the front of the card only – or the front and back of the card. But please remember that your overall design needs to fit within the overall size of the linoblock.

All materials you need for this workshop are included in your Materials Fee.

Your Materials Fee covers the use of quality carving tools, rollers, cards, envelopes, inks, other creative resources, reference materials, material sourcing, and studio equipment for this workshop. And you will be given a lino plate (approx 140mm x 200mm) to carve and print.

You will be given 14x quality pre-cut, pre-scored blank cards, with matching envelopes. You’ll also be given paper to practice and proof printing, and a few extra cards.

You will leave this workshop with your carved linocut block and your cards and envelopes.

Please bring a pen and journal or notebook for taking notes during the workshop.

You are welcome to take photos of my demonstrations and the processes we cover, so you can refer back to these in the future.

Please wear closed, comfortable shoes and comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting paint on. Bring a studio apron if you have one.

A light morning and afternoon tea is provided for this workshop. As is tea and coffee throughout the day.

A light lunch of salads with cold meats and fresh bread is also included in your fee. Please advise any specific dietary requirements.