Art scholars etch, roll and snap

On Tuesday 18 October 11 Year 7 to Upper Sixth Art scholars attended a print making workshop at our dedicated Art Centre, run by the Curwen Print Study Centre. Two practising artists, Anne Pit and Dubi Roberts, ran two workshops – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The morning workshop was on dry point print making. The girls were tasked with ‘scratching’ a design using an etching needle onto acetate (they could also use sandpaper and shapes to create textures) and then inking up the designs using water-based ink.  The artists had brought two print makers with them so the girls could print their designs onto dampened paper, which is used because the fibres expand when wet and are better able to pick up the ink. The girls were encouraged to print their designs two or three times to show the difference in colours as they faded, and they also created mirror designs. The designs ranged from self-portraits to a bowl of fruit to kaleidoscope shapes.

In the afternoon the Art scholars tried their hand at lino cutting. The girls were given lino floor tiles, purchased at a builders’ merchant, and cut into them using different shaped blades to create their designs – which weren’t as intricate as those in the morning workshop, due to the lino material. Ink was ‘roller-ed’ onto the design, as opposed to pushing the ink on as they had done in the morning workshop.

Meanwhile, two Photography scholars spent the day flexing their photography skills with artist and photographer Peter Corr.  Millie K. in Upper Sixth and Elizah Y. in Lower Sixth spent the morning on Coe Fen and in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. A project on cows inspired the shots taken on Coe Fen where the students looked at manual bracketing and shutter speed. The afternoon was spent in the city centre photographing the impressive University of Cambridge college buildings.

Thank you to all three visiting artists who spent the day with our scholars – all of whom truly valued the day’s workshops and learnt many new skills.