Handsome prints – the art of printmaking at City College Peterborough

…designing skills. She took three levels of NCFE exams with me, too – students are able to take exams f they wish – then when the printmaking course was set up it was the obvious course for her. Her work is absolutely amazing. Phenomenal.’

But don’t just take Eddie’s word for it. Lois has had her work exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum, one of the most prestigious exhibition spaces for design in the world. ‘The V&A run a competition called “Inspired by…”’ she explains. ‘You can be inspired by any artefact that you find within the V&A, then create a piece of artwork that’s taken from that inspiration. That artwork is then sent off for judging at the V&A and they select about 20 pieces of work to exhibit within the museum itself. We’ve had quite a bit of success with that competition over the last five years, with two or three people in every year.’

‘You’re encouraging the talent they’ve got but also seeing the talent they already have’

Such successes, says Eddie, are what make her job so special, and ultimately so rewarding. That, and the sheer diversity of the work, which always provides a few surprises. ‘It’s part of the beauty of it really, as a tutor. You can give the same project to ten people and they’ll all come up with something totally different. You’re encouraging the talent they’ve got but also seeing the talent they already have – and this particular group are very talented. I’ve got over 100 students all in all, and there’s an amazing depth of talent there.’

Eddie’s own background is ceramics, and she had her own small studio for a while, making pottery. ‘That developed into portraits, and now I do a lot more painting and portraits than I do pottery. But I’ve always taught as well – in secondary schools initially.’ Teaching at the City College Peterborough came about because she had moved areas, and found herself at a loose end, at home with the kids. ‘A class came up, and initially I just covered it for a couple of weeks because somebody was off sick.’ Nineteen years later, Eddie is still there, and has expanded the teaching into almost a full-time occupation.

‘It’s spread enormously! I started off taking a painting class, now I take painting, pottery, printmaking, sculpture. But printmaking has always been one of my passions, really. Although I took pottery, my pottery surfaces were covered with print techniques.’

‘Printmaking in particular is something where you don’t have to be able to draw to make the most of it’

Of course, the potential down side with all this talk of talent is that it may intimidate someone thinking of taking classes. But Eddie is quick to dispel the idea that only budding Picassos or Rambrandts should apply. ‘I think a lot of people get put off because they think, “Oh, I can’t…