Handsome prints – the art of printmaking at City College Peterborough

…draw, I wouldn’t be able to cope with the design or development of it”. But printmaking in particular is something where you don’t have to be able to draw to make the most of it.’

One student who by his own admission is no draughtsman is 62 year-old Brian Withall. ‘I certainly can’t draw,’ he says. ‘I know my limits on that! But I can reproduce shapes, and that’s what I like about printing, I can create a shape and transfer it onto a print. And Eddie is really encouraging, she lets people develop at their own pace.’ Susan agrees. ‘I couldn’t be doing drawing and painting, I don’t think I’d be for me. I love the fact that with printmaking, it always comes out slightly differently each time, you never quite know what you’re going to get, I like that.’

‘It’s a hobby – but if it pays for itself I’ll be happy!’

Most will be familiar – at least in principle – with printing onto paper or fabric, but Brian’s particular interest brings some unusual technical challenges. ‘I’m trying to learn some techniques for printing onto glass. I’d been on a short course in Devon, using screen-printing techniques to transfer enamel onto glass. I thought I’d come to a printing class here and find out about different techniques.’

So, is he also thinking of going into business? ‘Not yet, because I’ve only just started. My skills aren’t good enough.’ He doesn’t rule out selling a few pieces, nonetheless. ‘It’s a hobby – but if it pays for itself I’ll be happy!’ He says he would not hesitate to recommend the course to anyone. ‘It’s the real introduction to basics. You can go at your own pace, Eddie gives you lots of information and she’s very encouraging. And it lets you decide whether you’d like to pursue it further.’ Who knows what hidden talents you may discover? There’s also another bonus to working with a group – something that overcomes the solitary, potentially isolating nature of solo creative work. ‘There’s a very good social side as a result of the class, and Eddie organises trips out for people so we get to see exhibitions and so on.’

‘We encourage people who are interested in arts and crafts to come along and join a course. They meet like-minded people and they learn new techniques’

Jackie Hall, Marketing Development Manager at City College Peterborough, expands on this point. ‘For many of our courses, students will go to exhibitions and extend what they’re doing in the classroom to outside the classroom, and that’s great, particularly if people are on their own. People can share their interests not just in the classroom but often outside it, too.’ Then, there are the events that the college itself organises. ‘As a college, we also hold events, such as the Peterborough Open Artists Studios. We hold exhibitions of work each June. Many people don’t have the facilities to have members of the public in their homes, so we host something here in the college, and on 29 November we hold an annual celebration of students’ work, and people can come along and see some of the work they’ve been producing in the classroom. Sometimes it prompts people to join a class, or they can simply buy some of the work.’

It might also prompt them to see the potential of their own work, of course. ‘I think so,’ says Jackie. ‘Many people are inspired to turn their hobby into something enterprising – something that will make them an income. It’s a great way of doing something you enjoy and making some money as well. We encourage people who are interested in arts and crafts to come along and join a course. They meet like-minded people and they learn new techniques – and you get such a mix of people in the classrooms. Printmaking is fairly new to our curriculum, but we’re very proud of our successes so far.’

People can join throughout the year, but courses start again in January 2014. What better time than the New Year to take up a new hobby, and see just where that new path could lead?

To find out more about printmaking courses at City College Peterborough, or information on other courses available, visit www.citycollegepeterborough.ac.uk, email , phone (01733) 761361 or call into the College in Brook Street, Peterborough PE1 1TU.