This Land: Colchester Makerspace – An Essex Book Festival 25th Anniversary Collaboration

Venue: Colchester Makerspace, Trinity Works, 24 Trinity Street, Colchester, CO1 1JN
Box Office: makercampus.co.uk/ebf25
Get 25% off with promo code EBF25

Join us for a month-long celebration of printmaking, inspired by the 2024 Essex Book Festival theme ‘This Land’.

Associate Artists at Colchester Makerspace have developed a series of classes that explore the rich and diverse landscapes, cultures, and histories of Essex.

Sunday 2 June, 10am – 2pm
Discover the Art of Letterpress

Artisan composing movable type for Letterpress Printing.

Discover the art of letterpress, we will teach you how to design, typeset, and print your own postcard to your future self. You will be inspired by the words of Essex nature writers, past and present, and use our vintage type and presses to create your unique message.

Saturday 8 June – 10.30am – 1.30pm
Design Your Own Tote Bag

Silkscreening workshop in China.

Design your own tote bag, and learn the basic principles of screen printing. You will come away with a bag that celebrates the character(s) of Essex and its diverse communities. You will be inspired by the people, heritage, and social history of the county, and use our screen printing equipment to transfer your design onto fabric.

Thursday 13 June – 6.30 – 9.30pm
Experience the Beauty of Lino Cutting

Close up portrait of a printmakers hands at work as she cuts away at the surface of a piece of lino to reveal a pattern. She is using with a range of hand held cutting tools. Horizontal format from a high angle view with a shallow focus on the artists hands giving a nice out of focus foreground. Photographed at a her artists studio on the island of Møn Denmark.

Experience the beauty of lino cutting, we will guide you through the process of creating your own print inspired by the county’s biodiversity. Whether you choose to depict a bird, a flower, a fox, or something else you will learn how to carve your design into the linoleum surface and then print it onto paper or fabric using our proofing press.

Thursday 27 June, 6.30 – 9.30pm
Create a Limited Edition Risograph Print

Create a limited edition Risograph print inspired by the Essex landscape, from the waterways and woodlands to the coast and the cities. You will learn how to cut and paste shapes and colours to make your own collage, and then print it using this addictive DIY printing process. You will love the vivid colours and stunning imperfections of your artwork.

Venue: Colchester Makerspace, Trinity Works, 24 Trinity Street, Colchester, CO1 1JN
Box Office: makercampus.co.uk/ebf25
Get 25% off with promo code EBF25