Hockney - Talk

Next Tuesday (11 Feb) at 1pm

Why is David Hockney of such importance to printmakers in particular? What techniques did he pick up from Picasso's colleagues? What brought him to the print rooms at the Royal College in the first place?

Tour the Hockney exhibition at The Walker with artist Emma Gregory (former Print Studio Manager at the Bluecoat). Learn more about the print techniques he used, the printers he works with and what they have contributed to his practice. Meet at the Walker Art Gallery in the exhibition rooms.

Free.

Exhibition at arena gallery


An interesting exhibition that will be taking place this FRIDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER at ARENA GALLERY just above elevator bar in the baltic triangle. Everyone welcome to view some great talent and get a bargain. Our own technician gregory herbert will be exhibiting some prints he's been working on down at the bluecoat.
                                                  www.gregoryherbert.co.uk



Here is the flyer for the print studio workshops and courses.

To book your place call the Bluecoat ticket and Information on 0151 702 5324


Exhibition by 4 artists who met at the Bluecoat through its brilliant courses, skill shares and use of the studios.

banner_image
chris puffin editionsltdspacerlorraine editionsltd
ruth ball editionsltdspacersusie overill editonsltdspacerloraine editionsltd

Liverpool Pressgang - 
Ruth Ball, Susie Overill, Chris Waites & Loraine Waites

Private view - Thursday 5th September 
5.30-8.00pm
Exhibition continues until 28th September 

A fortuitous meeting at a workshop at the Bluecoat resulted in these four artists collaborating and having fun on a regular basis.
Captivated by the alchemy of colour and versatility of enamel, Ruth  creates a wide variety of work.  She uses the interplay between enamelling and printmaking to develop exciting new pieces in both mediums.
Susie is influenced by landscape, textures and colour which she interprets in an abstract style using and combining different techniques. Travel is a great source of inspiration, especially if a foreign workshop is involved.
Chris and Loraine fell in love with the magic of printmaking after joining a workshop with Alan Birch in 1993. Chris is interested in both natural and man-made forms. His work ranges from capturing the essence of figurative subjects using the simplest of tools and materials, to producing graphic geometric images using photosensitive plate.  Loraine is inspired by her love of nature and visits to museums.  She enjoys experimenting and discovering the best technique for a particular image.
We think the range of techniques and approaches to printmaking shown in these works promises an exciting and visually stunning show. Hope you like it!
Editions Ltd, 16 Cook Street, Liverpool. Tel: 0151 236 4236.
Web: www.editionsltd.net Email: info@editionsltd.net

Poster Printing with Alex Smith and Textile Screenprinting with Jen Fenner


Ever thought of creating a poster for your favourite band or making your own t-shirts? We have two courses running this Autumn that will give you everything you need to know to get printing and creating!

Textile Screenprinting

Thursday evenings
12th September - 3rd October
6pm - 9pm
£145/£135

This four week course will provide an introduction to printing onto textiles, looking at which inks and fabrics to use to create artworks, clothing and accessories. You will learn how to transfer your drawings and designs onto a screen and then print them accurately onto fabric.

Jen Fenner is a local artist, print maker and volunteer print technician at the Bluecoat.
www.facebook.com/RedVioletMade



 

Poster Printing

Sat 14th and Sun 15th September
10am - 4pm
£145/£135

During this two day course you will be shown how to make a positive, prepare a screen and then print your own designs! You will learn how to register more than one colour and to build up layers to make a really eye-catching creative poster.

Alex Smith is an illustrator and a volunteer screen print technician at the Bluecoat.
www.milkforthecat.co.uk





To book your place, contact the Tickets and Information desk at the Bluecoat on 0151 702 5324, or visit the website at http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/content/tickets.

Happy Printing!

New Courses and Workshops!


The list of new courses and workshops for our fantastic print studios is now available for all to see on our New Courses and Workshops page!

Introducing Solar Plate, along with poster printing, screen printing onto textiles, Hard Ground Etching, Letterpress and book-making. There is something for everybody to get involved in. Fancy learning a new skill? Or maybe introducing a loved one to the wonderful world of print? Places are easy to book - just call our Tickets and Information team on 0151 702 5324.

Happy Printing!





         

Bluecoat Print Technicians and A Deux Doigts

A small print show to demonstrate the work produced by the Print Studios most recent Artists in residence GrĂ©goire Canut and Anne Chamberland and the Print Studios technicians. At the Bluecoat 2nd Floor along with Jen Fenner Greg Herbert and Alex Smith 








One Day Introduction to Laser Cutting with Patrick Fenner

September 21st 2013 10am to 5pm

Venue – DoES Liverpool, Hanover Street, L1 (4th Floor)

£65


The course offers participants an opportunity to learn the laser cutting process, how to design for laser cut/etched/engraved work and the ability to use the laser cutter unaided. It is preferred that each participant brings their own laptop. This is not essential but please contact Patrick if you will be unable to bring a computer. Suitable for beginners. For more information, contact Patrick at contact@def-proc.co.uk or book directly at defproc.eventbrite.co.uk


Photopolymer with Tracy Hill

A massive thanks goes out to local artist and teacher Tracy Hill, who came in to the Bluecoat recently to share her expertise in Photopolymer printing. Over the two day course we were shown how to prepare our plates, how to create a test plate, given free reign to design our own hand drawn and digital images and how to then print them successfully. The course was fun, informative and inspirational, with all the members raring to carry on with the process at home!

Take a look at some pictures of the course below and you can see more of Tracy's work on her website: http://tracyhill.co.uk/

All of the notes from the workshop can be found on our Downloads page.










Ă€ Deux Doigts




Ă€ Deux Doigts (Two Fingers) are two French artists; GrĂ©goire Canut and Anne Chamberland. 


'Their intention is to create a single entity regardless of who carries the trait. What matters is the common and shared understanding of the narrative universe, a universe that asks a recurring human material in a dreamlike atmosphere, often cruel, where childhood is at the heart of the story'.







They recently finished a ten day screen print residency at the Bluecoat print studios, where they produced a number of amazing screen prints. 
Two of which are going to be exhibited for three weeks on Thursday 1st August along with artists Gregory Herbert, Alex Smith and Jen Fenner in the Bluecoat on the 2nd floor. 





Make sure you check out the rest of A Deux Doigts prints over on their website; adeuxdoigts.fr/
and their blog; 10daysinlivercool 




Emily Speed Print Now on Sale at The Bluecoat


 
 
 


Emily Speed Sfogliatelle
Screen Print
2013
Limited Edition of 50

This print, Sfogliatelle (a type of Italian pastry and meaning 'many leaves/layers')
continues to explore a sculptural work Facades/Flats that Emily Speed made in
Rome in 2012. Façades/Flats looked at the layers of theatrical façades that exist
within a city, especially those whose bricks, design or size communicate power and
clearly signify exclusion. Speed is also interested in the ever-changing nature of
cities and how quickly buildings appear and disappear. In the print, several layers do
not really exist; they are made using only negative space and hopefully create a
slippery space that one can never be totally certain about.

This print is available to buy at the Tickets and Information desk, priced £120 (unframed)

New, improved and fully updated!

We've spent the past few days putting together a whole host of notes and information taken from our courses and teachers and have now uploaded them all to our downloads page for all to see!

You can find information on all kinds of print making, from handy suppliers lists, to a coca-cola lithography walk-through, to notes on screen printing on to fabric as well as all of our updated workshop and courses lists.

Take a quick look here - hopefully you will discover something new :)

Happy printing!


Mountains and Valleys an exhibition by Ana Cade



  • Ana Cade: Mountains and Valleys

    Arena Studios and Gallery, 27 Parliament Street, Liverpool

    Preview: Thursday 4th July, 6pm-9pm
    Opening dates and times: Friday 5th July – Saturday 6th July and Thursday 11th July – Saturday 13th July 1pm–5pm 
    and viewing by appointment.

    Exploring the possibilities of contemporary illustration and print, Artist Ana Cade presents a folded paper installation of traditional screen print, paper sculpture and 
    moving image. The installation plays with aggressive humour and suggestive illustration, responding to Cade’s views on the breakdown of communication between humans and the natural planet and the distance we have put between ourselves and our animalistic instincts. Forms symbolic of ritual treasure are suspended in an otherworldly cave of light and ink. Masked figures and long tendriled insects co-habit geometry in their worship of the sun and the moon.


    ANA CADE
    Ana is an emerging practitioner in the field of sculpture, illustration and traditional print making techniques. She graduated from Liverpool JMU in 2010 with a degree in illustration and has since been creating work that is concerned with themes surrounding the geometry and patterns in nature, femininity, sexuality and fantasy. Cade uses drawing, print and sculpture as a therapeutic process to explore colour, pattern and textures. Working with varied mediums such as paper and wood, she creates otherworldly imagery illustrating people, creatures and natural form

Changes at the Bluecoat

At the end of the month current Print Studio Manager, Emma Gregory, will be leaving.

Her post will be filled temporarily by Hannah Fray, who many of you will remember from her time in the print studios as volunteer and then as Print Studios Coordinator (2008 - 2012).  The post will be advertised towards the end of the summer. (If you would like to be notified of this please get in contact by email - print@thebluecoat.org.uk.)

Emma is moving with her family (also dog and press) to Bristol. She would like to thank the many people who have made her time at the Bluecoat so special: the printers she has had the pleasure to teach; partners in delivery including Editions Ltd., John Moores University and National Museums Liverpool; the talented artists and amazing print tutors she has worked with; colleagues at the Bluecoat and, in particular, her volunteers. 

If you want to stay in touch with Emma please send her an email via the contact page of her website: www.emmagregory.co.uk  You will be added to her mailing list automatically.

Photo of Emma at LJMU by Lisa Who. (Thanks Lisa.)

Keep printing!
 

What Katie did with Elizabeth...

For the past 7 weeks, print studio volunteer Katie Whitfield has been working with local artist Elizabeth Willow on an exciting new project, an experiment in print and book forms. Originally based on a skill sharing  premise, the pair have been concentrating on a different print form each week, ranging from drypoint card and monoprinting to aquatints and photopolymer prints, combining them with a variety of folding and book binding methods to create beautiful and intricate works. Both Katie and Elizabeth plan to continue working together to see in what direction the work will go.

Monoprint by Katie Whitfield

The project is ongoing and you can check out all of the work so far on their website: whatkatiedidwithelizabeth.com 

Etching by Elizabeth Willow


Degree Shows

This week host two wonderful degree shows, with John Moores showcasing their talent on thursday 23 May with the private view from 5pm- late. (further details below)

Fashion catwalk show starts at 8:30pm – to book a place call 0151 9041216 or email receptions@ljmu.ac.uk 
Exhibition continues 24 May – 7 June, 10am-6pm and open 12noon-6pm at the weekend (closed bank holiday).

Our volunteer Gregory Herbert also has his degree show at Liverpool Hope. With the private view being on Friday 24th May 5pm-9pm. Greg will exhibit his contemporary twist on printing, you can preview some of his work on www.gregoryherbert.co.uk
This runs until 31st May 2013 open from 10pm-5pm Monday- Firday.
Come along and check out some of the best contemporary artist and designers Liverpool has to offer.

Print journeys 

An exhibition curated by Gill Curry
in the Bluecoat Display Centre 


The impact of journeying and journeys 
on the group of Liverpool based print makers 
brought together for this exhibition is significant. 



Exhibitors include:
Ann Beare, Gill Curry, Emma Gregory
Mike Hatjoullis, Grace Horne,
Jeanne-Marie Kenny, Christine Toh,
Colette Whittington, Lisa Who & Graham Williams.




Private view Friday 26 April from 5.30 - 7.30pm

The exhibition will run until 25th May


Gill Curry will also host a linocut and print workshop on Sunday 5th May.
Tickets are £39 (£35 BDC members &concs)
and include materials and refreshments, 
call or email to book the last few places.





Photec printing!

Down at the print studios the volunteers had a chance to do some training in the Intaglio room with Emma Gregory, learning how to prepare, expose and print a non-etch plate using Photec. We went through sanding and degreasing the plate and how to apply the light-sensitive film (in a specially made dark room), how to expose the film and then develop it in a soda crystal solution. By the end of the morning we had all produced a print, even those who had never used the press before.

All of this was thanks to Anglesey-based printmaker John Hegley, who recently received grant money from the Welsh Arts Council to develop his own Photec techniques. Fantastically, he then came and tested our light unit to check the correct exposure times to get the best possible prints (thanks John!).

Here are some of the results:

Flower Lady by Jen Fenner

Work from our newest volunteer, Greg Herbert

A double-exposed print by Katie Whitfield

A collection of prints and one of the finished plates


As you can see we still have some things to learn but some of the group have already bought Photec printing supplies and are eager to get to grips with this difficult but rewarding technique.

Notes on how to do Photec printing at the Bluecoat will be uploaded soon on to our downloads page so watch this space!

Screenadelica at FACT

Screenadelica, the successful touring music poster exhibition, has made it's way to FACT for the weekend! Run by Gary McGarvey, aka Horse, the show is celebrating the upcoming exhibition The Art of Pop Video, opening to the public on the 14th March. Visitors to FACT will be able to see some of the beautiful printed posters, as well as try their hand at screen printing on the specially made beds in the gallery. You can choose from a selection of images and take home your creation afterwards!

Screenadelica is on at FACT until 6pm Sunday 3rd March.

For more information you can visit the FACT website: www.fact.co.uk. Check out more work by Horse here: www.youresomehorse.com.




Teaching Recommences in NEW Space



Big thanks to Steve, Janet, Matthew, Anna, Georgina and Magdalena for making our first intro course in the NEW SPACE such a wonderful one. What a great group of people, and very ambitious prints too.


Next course at the Bluecoat will be Intro to Etching, starts 28 Feb. See New Courses and Workshops page (top of page) for info.

Inprint event to check out

Check out this event at The Shipping Forecast on Sunday. And if you would be interested in contributing please get in touch via www.facebook.com/inprint.liverpool. I went to the last one - the promoter is Gary McGarvey aka HORSE. Hip selection of printed matter. (Can I get away with that word?) Gary promotes similar events on a regular basis. Also producing gig posters and running pop-up shop 'Percy Gulliver's'. Pic captured by Martin Kochany's phone in MMU foyer space.

New, Improved and Open for Business

Two weeks on and the screen print studio move is all but complete. I sat in the new space for a moment today and breathed a huge sigh. It looks 'proper'. The sun was bouncing in off the building opposite and the space felt great.





Come visit. Take your first screen print course. Amazing resource.

I'd like to thank the volunteers who made this move possible: Katie, Jen A, Jen F, Sue, Stephen, Alex, Lou, Louis, Terry, David, Carla, Roy, Chris, Ash, Christine and Janet. (Hope I haven't missed anyone out.) Could not have done this without you. Really, thank you.

Also, my colleagues at the Bluecoat but in particular Paul and John for all their patience and building-type knowledge and CEO Mary, for having decided to give us a much larger studio.

x Emma
Print Studio Manager

The Studio is Moving!

Today's the day! The plumber's in, the walls are bare and the squeegees are boxed - we're moving to a new studio! In two weeks time we will have a brand new, larger and brighter screen print room. The best thing? It's just across the hall!

Print Studio Manager Emma Gregory and a team of volunteers have been clearing walls, sweeping floors and taking down displays all morning to help with the move. Once the plumbing is finished the beds will be moved into place and we can start painting the walls and making it all look fantastic. As well as more space, the new studio will also include a new drying rack and prep table. There's even a rumour going around about a new fabric bed! We'll have to wait and see :)

Here's some pics of the chaos studios so far...







Very exciting times! Watch this space for updates on the studio's progress...