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Printmaking: Secret Spaces

Printmaking: Secret Spaces

Welcome to the Stove’s next Creative Challenge!

This week we are inviting you to experiment with printmaking at home. Whether you are looking for something to get the kids involved in, or need something to kick-start your own creativity this week we hope you can adapt our guidelines to suit what you have at home. 

To inspire your prints we’d like you to think about: 

Where are the secret spaces in your life now?  

As our lives have all gone through a major change in the past month, we’d like you to think about your secret spaces – where are you escaping from the everyday? Where are you going for some peace and quiet from your household? From the back garden to a blanket fort, a quiet local walking route to your bedroom we’d love this to inspire your printmaking!

Things to think about:  

What is in your secret space? 

What colours are there? 

What textures and materials can you find there? 

We’ve split this challenge into two parts depending on what materials you have to hand – repeat block printing motifs (tattie printing!), or collograph plates (using found and recycled materials), but we’d love to see your own take on this challenge if you are feeling inspired! If you are working with little kids you will need to give them some help – these instructions include the use of sharp objects. 

Responses

We’d love to see your creations – take a photograph of how you get on, works in progress or finished prints and send them to us [email protected] and we will add them to our online gallery! 

Raindrops on the shallow Scaur, as printed by the McKays.
Raindrops on the shallow Scaur, printed by the McKays.
“The theme was “home” I was thinking of a way to incorporate other elements, so it’s all a work in progress, I was looking at a way to join up the houses using string for roads then I thought of using the wisps of smoke to kind of bring it together with the church on the hill.” – Michael Moore
‘It was pretty fun. I liked printing for the different ways they came out.’ – Aeyrn
Aeyrn experimenting with collagraphs.
“I made a print for the Secret Spaces challenge this week – based on the once a day cycle rides I have taken nearly every day of lockdown with my son Alec. These are the roads we have cycled on in the area around our house in NE Essex.” – Andy Brooke
“The collograph plate Andy used to create his Secret Spaces print, made from torn up egg boxes and bubble wrap, plus a few staples” – Andy Brooke
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