We had so much fun in our Block Print on Fabric class last night. A group of four friends took the class together and that always makes it a party atmosphere! Here are a few action shots from the printing session; we’ll show you the finished fabrics once they’re dry enough to lay out for photos.
We’ve got our classes scheduled up until the beginning of November, and there are a lot of fun things happening! It will take a few days to get all of the classes uploaded into the events calendar, but for now, the list is below.
We have an early registration special for TODAY ONLY: register for a class today and get 15% off the fee! You have until 10:00 tonight, since it’s Night Market night in Walkerville and we’ll be keeping the shop open late. If you can’t make it into the shop today to sign up but want to take advantage of the special price, you can e-transfer the 30% deposit (that’s 30% of the regular course price) to print@levigatorpress.ca. If you choose this option, don’t forget to send us your name and contact information in a separate email.
Materials are included for the printmaking and bookbinding classes, and HST applies.
September 9 & 16: Lino block printing, 7-9pm :: $45
September 10: Monoprints, 6-9pm :: $40
September 14 & 21: Bookbinding: Hard cover stab (Japanese), 7-9pm :: $50
September 17: Bookbinding: Longstitch, 6-9pm :: $50
September 23, 30, and October 7: Calligraphy, 7-9pm :: $60
September 24: Block printing on fabric, 6-9pm :: $40
October 3-4, join us for the Windsor Essex Studio Tour, where we’ll have printing, pottery, and knitting events happening all weekend. It’s free!
October 6: Bookbinding: Coptic, 6:30-9:30pm :: $50
October 8, 15, & 22: Reductive woodcut, 6-9pm :: $90
October 13 & 20: Letterpress cards, 6:30-9:30pm :: $60
*October 17 & 18, 24 & 25, 31 & November 1: we will be offering the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild 6-day course, Bookbinding 1, with master bookbinder Dan Mezza. This course is administered by CBBAG and the discount offer does not apply. This is an intensive course that is rarely offered in our area. More information will be posted soon but in the meantime, feel free to call us for details!*
November 2 & 9: Two-colour screenprints, 6:30-9:30pm :: $60
A few images from tonight’s screenprinting session. We had loads of fun and the students made some really great prints.
For those of you who wanted to take this class and couldn’t make it fit your schedules, we have the next session planned for November 2 & 9, Monday evenings, from 6:30 to 9:30. This is a popular class, so you might want to register early!
Here’s a little peek at an heraldic portrait woodcut I’m working on as a gift for some dear friends who are getting married. It’s a 5.5 by 8 inch block of cherry wood, a little harder than what I’m used to carving but it holds fine detail beautifully.
While on vacation we took a class in how to tie some simple knots for use around the campsite. Now I can’t stop thinking about knots! This is the Carrick Bend, a useful join for two lines of equal weight, and also a typical knot used in heraldry due to its beautiful shape. Here it’s being used to tie together two banners.
Alyssa was here in the studio today doing some block printing on fabric. She’s the artist who did the amazing Frida Kahlo woodcut portrait a few weeks back. Today she used a few of our woodblocks and mixed them up with some of her own lino blocks of fun little streetcars!
Our Letterpress Cards class that was to start tonight has been rescheduled to accommodate student requests, so you still have some time to join! It’s two sessions, which will take place two weeks apart on Wednesday evenings, August 19 and September 2. See the updated class listing for more details: LETTERPRESS CARDS link
Levigator Press is back from vacation and the shop is back to regular hours. We did a little bit of work while on vacation, and we’ve got a few more new classes to add for fall. Stay tuned for fun new projects and events, which we’ll tell you about later just as soon as we’ve caught up on everything we missed. Also, if you haven’t yet entered our contest by leaving a comment on our last post (click HERE), we’re giving you until Friday to do so, then we’ll announce a winner!
Levigator Press will be closed for summer vacation from Sunday, July 26 to Sunday, August 9, to recharge our batteries and get ready for fall classes and printing! We’ll be open this weekend for the Walkerville Art Walk & Rock event, though, so you still have time to get your Levigator Press fix before we head out.
Leave us a comment here and tell us what YOU’RE doing for summer vacation, and when we get back we’ll randomly choose one commenter to receive a free workshop (limited to locals) or a Levigator Press tote bag (for those who can’t get here for a class). Please be sure and tell us in your comment whether or not you are local, so we know which hat to throw your name into!
While we’re away, you can still register for any of the classes we have currently listed. We can accept your deposit via e-transfer or Paypal to secure your spot in a class! Find details at the bottom of each class listing. We’re already starting to sign people up, so it’s a good idea to get your name in there early. We don’t want you to miss out!
On Monday night we got this student print finished with a whirlwind printing session of three colours, including carving the block in between. The student had careful plans drawn out in her sketchbook and a good sense of the colours she wanted to use, so she was able to work efficiently to get the last three colour reductions finished in just two and a half hours. Here’s the final six colour print:
And below is how we got there. At the beginning of the session the block was all carved and ready for colour #4, a 50-50 mix of process magenta and transparent base:
Then after some more carving, colour #5, a semi-opaque teal:
After this layer was printed was when I noticed that the baldric-type strap over Frida’s shoulder was green, white, red, like the Mexican flag. A fluke, as it turned out, but perfect.
Finally, all but the lines on the face were carved away, and what was left was printed in black. The student did some selective inking here in order to preserve the colourful wood chatter elsewhere in the print.
There was great consistency across the edition too. We’re so pleased with the final result!
Two new layers on this student woodcut from last night’s class! First, an orange-peach tone to darken the skin in the face a bit, then a bright orange (it’s our shop favourite Day-Glo orange ink again, with a bit of Gamblin block printing ink in Napthol Scarlet mixed in just to tone down the neon glowiness a little).
Here’s colour number two in the drying rack:
And the block:
Here’s the pull for colour number three:
Three colours finished and drying:
In next week’s session we’re hoping to bang out three more colours in three hours.