Reduction Linocut Workshop

Frankie Brown is running a reduction linocut workshop at Hotwalls Studios on Saturday 4 July, and it's open to all levels, so you don't need to have ever picked up a carving tool to join in. The only requirement is that you're over 16.

If you're not familiar with the technique, reduction linocut is a bit of a puzzle. Instead of carving a separate block for every colour, you use one single piece of linoleum for the whole print. You carve away a bit, print a layer, carve some more, print another, and so on. By the time you're finished, the original block is pretty much gone, which means you can't go back and print more later. It leaves you with a small, unique edition rather than a huge run.

Brown has been working as a professional illustrator and printmaker for over ten years, and she runs these from her own studio in Hotwalls. The session is built around the practical side of the process: how to break an image down into layers, how to plan your design, how to carve the block, and how to register everything so the colours land exactly where they should. She describes the environment as supportive and non-critical, and she's there to give guidance while you work on your own thing.

Beyond the workshops, she runs 'Print Club' social sessions and talks about the therapeutic side of printmaking, framing these classes as a starting point rather than a one-off. The workshop is at Studio 4, Hotwalls Studios, Broad Street, Portsmouth, PO1 2FS, and costs £65.