One of Val's beautiful prints on black paper.  I love teaching at Foredown Tower, the views are amazing and you feel as though you are in the middle of nowhere, not just off the A27. It is very peaceful.    Just the Downs and the sky. Making Printing Blocks was a course I really wanted to run, it is important to be able to design your own blocks and print your own fabrics and papers, it is what makes your work different to everyone elses. There were four intrepid students on the course which meant we had plenty of room to spread out. Because I run these courses myself, I don't need to have a certain number of students booked before I can run them. It is a great luxury and I am able to work more closely with less students - poor students . . .     We started off by deciding which designs would work best and taking sections from previously made designs.   These blocks were created from one of Lea's designs showing the 'positive' and 'negativ

  One of Heidi's overprints. The workshops are supposed to start at 10 am but every one was in and working before 9.30 am. The group were well into their printing blocks and were raring to go. Some of the group had taken extra materials home to make more printing blocks overnight. Mirror images of their original blocks was a popular choice. Shaun about to print onto one of her beautiful repeat prints with Emma in the background applying paint to her block. Liz, Jo, Tracey and Heidi all working hard - totally oblivious to my taking a photo. I love this block of Tracey's, the top print is on tissue paper, the bottom one is on tin foil.  The top print is the positive block, the bottom print shows the positive and negative blocks.   2 of Liz's prints, the top two are on newspaper (gorgeous) and the bottom one is on pages torn from a sketch book. Heidi was better pleased with her block when she cut it into two . . .

 One of Lana's colourful papers which she then started to cut and collage.  Art Van Go have a great studio/workshop space at the back of their well equipped shop. They have everything a girl could desire. Having made the printing blocks the students started to print with them on A1 sheets of white cartridge, working out their patterns and repeats. We used acrylic paint to print with. Once the A1 sheets were printed up and dry we colour washed them with a dilution of procion dye powder and water. You can see how beautifully the different coloured dyes bleed and mix together on the page. Once dry the acrylic paint resists the dye.   Lana started to build up layers by cutting up one sheet to apply or collage onto another sheet.   One of Lana's layered pieces which she later went onto stitch.     Another one of Lana's printed sheets .   This is one of Kate's overprinted sheets, it looks quite 3D if you slightly offset your over print. We all thou