8 SPACES

Saturday 27 March, 10–4pm

£40

Led by a selected MA Multi Disciplinary Print student, this workshop provides a rare and exciting insight into the variety of print processes available. The day will include a talk and demonstration of the student’s current practice and you will be assisted in preparing your own work for printing in the afternoon. Be prepared for the unexpected and sign up to a day at the edge of printmaking.

8 SPACES

Saturday, 13 March 10–4pm

£60

This demo day will introduce you to the intriguing process of transferring a photographic image by screenprinting bitumen onto lino and then using caustic soda. A unique slant on traditional linocut.

8 SPACES

Some etching experience required

Saturday, 13 Feb 10–4pm

£60

Returns by popular request!

Sometimes referred to as paper lithography, this incredibly effective method uses just photocopies saturated with gum Arabic to create photo-resist that when rolled up can hold ink. We promise that you will be amazed at the results!

8 SPACES

For people with some experience of etching

Mondays 11 Jan – 22 Feb, 6–9pm

Half term 15 Feb

£140

Techniques covered include multiple plate print- ing, using colour, masks, open-bite, embossing, sugar-lift and spit-bite aquatint, carborundum and manipulating grounds. Emphasis will be placed on the experimentation and combination of process

in terms of image and mark making. This course would suit those looking to advance their technical skills, explore the possibilities of process, or advance their own ideas in an instructive and supportive environment.

Saturday 20 March 11am – 5pm

Spike Print Studio at E Shed
From Saturday 16 January we are exhibiting at the new Bristol Tourist Information Centre, E Shed (next to the Watershed). It is open 7 days a week from 10am-5pm.We are the first artist group to exhibit at its new venture providing us with the opportunity to exhibit quality original prints at very affordable prices.

From Saturday 12 September until Sunday 20 September Bristol had a rare chance to see a wide range of contemporary prints. Artists included Ged Quinn, Mariele Neudecker, Peter Forster, Martin Boyce, Anya Gallacio and Christiane Baumgartner together with work from 12 Uk Open Access Print Studios. The exhibition was a great success and the private view was a crush – see the film by Joe Magee on this website.

Emma Stibbon will give an illustrated talk on Friday 31st July from 2 -4 pm.

Call the studio on 0117 929 0135 to book your place, there is a small charge of just £2.50 per person.

Emma will present her prints and woodblocks. The print shown here has just received the ‘friends of The Laing Art Gallery purchase prize’ as part of the Northern Print Biennale, currently on in Newcastle.

Emma’s large dramatic woodcuts make her one of the most interesting of the current British printmakers.

Spike Print Studio has taken over one floor at the Berkeley Square Hotel in Bristol. Artists currently on show include Chitra Parvathy Merchant, Rachel Bright, Ann Gover, Mary Rouncefield, Jane Ormes and Lee Kellgren. Our work is proving popular with the hotel guests and the prints  are  selling on a regular basis. This is part of an ongoing relationship  with Berkeley Square Hotel who, as Bristol’s first Art Hotel, want to offer visitors a rich experience through visual surprises and unique artistic concepts. The current exhibition  run for 3 months with the next one due in June.  Details of the opening will be posted nearer the date.

SPIKE OPEN STUDIOS 1 – 4 May 2009

Spike Island opened its doors to the public again this bank holiday and had a record number of visitors passing through. Whilst the public Galleries are open all year round, Open Studios is the only time during the year when visitors can literally get behind the scenes and explore at their own pace. The public was able to meet the artists based here, see their work and  participate in the programme of events and activities that took place over the weekend. Spike Print Studio exhibited members’ recent work and had a very busy and successful weekend.  Original prints are a fantastic way of collecting and investing in art and we were pleased to see how well our work was received.

IMPACT 6 NEWS

Please visit the Impact page for a full and regular update.  Impact 6 arrives in Bristol in September and Spike Print Studio is play a major part in this. We are hosting a UK Open Access Print Studio exhibition as well as other major activities including  Hidden Impact and Continuous Print.  We will be exhibiting the very best in Contemporary Print and are very pleased to announce that Alan Cristea Gallery is curating an exhibition with us.

In 2009, IMPACT 6 celebrates 10 years since the International inter-disciplinary print conference began in Bristol in 1999. Since then it has travelled the world – Finland, South Africa, Germany, Poland and Estonia and much has changed in the fine print world.Hosted by the Centre for Fine Print Research at UWE, Bristol, the IMPACT 6 conference aims to focus on the international diversity of the discipline, from its roots in industrial communication through traditional, fine art based processes, to the current cutting edge technology and theoretical debates.You can find more information regarding the conference www.impact.uwe.ac.uk

IMPRESS

Members Gail Mason, Chitra Parvathy Merchant, Ros Ford and Frea Buckler  took part in IMPRESS  Printmaking Festival, which was  held in the Stroud area during March. This ambitious print event was very successful in bringing together established and emerging artists.  Highlights included   demonstrations and workshops, open to the public, led by masters in their field such as  celebrated etcher, Norman Ackroyd, who set up a ‘field studio’on Stratford Park bandstand. A Symposium, lectures and guided tours of exhibitions all provided a stimulating and informative background to the Festival and emphasized the long and varied traditions of printmaking in the UK and Ireland and the many innovative contemporary techniques.