What skills will creative people need to succeed in the future?
The Future Skills Festival will provide a unique platform for inspiring ideas and expert advice about the knowledge and skills that will drive the creative communities of the future. The programme has been developed specifically for artists, designers, performers, writers, creative businesses and professional people working in the arts, culture and creative industries.
The Festival – the first of its kind – is presented by Cibas, the creative industries business and skills development agency based at the University of Portsmouth. For further information and announcements, see the Future Skills Festival Tumblr and follow Cibas on Twitter.
It’s been an exciting time for the team with new baby, new ventures, and the promise of new beginnings for us all.We’ve just sent out our Summer Newsletter and copies can be downloaded here. (PDF 250kb)
The summer term, traditionally one of our busiest, offers some great additions to add to our regular line-up of lecturers, artists and guests. We’re hoping to introduce our new Adana Press for those interested in learning the craft of letterpressand hope to teach this alongside seminars in typography and digital processes. For those looking to preserve the light of summer there are two courses, a welcome return for Solar Plate Process with Demeter Dykes and a Cyanotype photographic workshopfrom artist and photographer Deborah Hanan.
We would also like to invite you to our summer open studio and hope you’ll join in some of the events and exhibitions that we’re involved with. Take advantage of our Summer Pass and a special gift if you book passes for both Summer and Autumn together.
The website continues to be updated with new courses and it’s worth keeping up to date by joining our mailing list. This year due to demand we added a series of screen printingcourses and will continue to respond to requests, so even if you see a course has been sold out via the website it’s always worth emailing us and with enough people we’ll attempt to add extra sessions.
Remember that Gift Vouchersare available for Badger Press, so if you would like us to make a booking on behalf of a friend or loved one, then we’ll send you a gift card and you can surprise them on that special day.
Our director Paul Booth recounts his visit to Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop to revise his typesetting knowledge and learn some new techniques for the Press.
“Having a fair amount of experience with Typographic design in digital form, both in print and for the Web, the need to get into a traditional type studio had grown and swelled for some time. Whilst helping a student with a research project (on printmaker Alan Kitching) we came across Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop on the Creative Review website… I saw a price and dates, went home and booked my place.
The studio is situated in a yard in Kennington, a cobbled street tucked behind a full set of characteristic London houses. After (good) coffee and polite introductions we cracked on with day one; print the date and your own in some form using wooden type on the Vandercook press. Like a child in a sweetshop at Christmas I rifled through case after case of Mr Smith’s wooden acquisitions, looking for the something striking but simple. Outline, old, cracked and weathered type filled the cases which we selected carefully and carried to the Vandercook on galleys. Having drawn a grid on paper one student laid out their idea while the other began setting their type on the press, ‘sketching’ a composition on the bed, which Kelvin explained was a method used by Alan Kitching that he learned as his apprentice for four years.
Day one was extremely informative yet relaxed, we printed our work and then looked to combine our own ideas to form and unified piece. Homework was set to come up with a short statement which would provide content for a certificate of course completion which would incorporate both lead and wooden type.
We returned the following morning with a plan of action, learning the proper methods and terminology for setting type. Which as a ‘digital native’ in design terms made my previous knowledge and experience in working with type very real indeed. Leading by pulling it from the shelves and locking it into a forme (the name given to a chase when it is filled with type), counting the points and picas as carefully as you can before proofing the idea into something fully formed. First by manually inking the type on the bed, then later using the roller to produce a clean and even coating of ink. Two colours were decided on by the end of the day and the designs came together nicely. Both myself and the other student attending produced a set of beautiful prints. As an educator in graphic design and a long time appreciator of type design and layout it was impassioned and the most satisfying work I have done in a long time.
The whole two days has given a great deal of inspiration and information on working with type, along with the recent purchase of an Adana press and a few boxes of lead Type the work is underway to bring Typographic workshops to Badger Press. With a long term view of providing accredited courses (more on this soon) and amassing a type collection to bring Badger Press in line with other letterpress studios like Mr Smith’s. Plans were made for Kelvin to visit the press in the future and to offer advice on improving our resources in building up a facility for letterpress.”
If you are interesting in learning about traditional and/or digital typesetting, layout and even Typographic design please register your interest to paul@badgerpress.org
Artist and photographer Deborah Hanan will be teaching a two day workshop on the weekend of the 25/26th June, offering an introduction to an historic photographic technique, otherwise known as “Cyanotype”. This printing process enables a photographic image to be fixed onto a variety of paper types using sunlight. The resulting “photogram” is blue in colour and was historically used in the cataloguing of flora and fauna as shown above.
During the course of the weekend you will work with a range of natural objects such as flowers, feathers and leaves to produce “sun prints”. Over two days you will have the opportunity to develop your work and experiment with black and white photographic negatives, either supplied or you can bring your own (medium format to large format works best). Anyone wishing to supply their own objects of choice may do so; items such as jewellery and glass bottles give pleasing results. A variety of paper sizes can be used as the blue cyanotype emulsion is painted on by hand, making it possible to create a range of wonderful outcomes. To book a place or find out more contact info@badgerpress.org Online bookings can be made below.
2 Day Cyanotype workshop £80 Maximum 8 places. 25/26th June. Go to Bookings
Due to demand we’re adding a few more screen printing days, the first of these on Saturday 05 March will be hosted by Rob Luckins who has kindly stepped in to help us out. Rob is an experienced printmaker currently teaching at schools and colleges locally, and enjoying time working on his own projects at Badger Press.
Students will learn a variety of stencil methods and the use of photosensitive emulsion to create images that originate from hand-drawn, photographic or digital starting points. Using photographic or hand-drawn images as a source of inspiration for their work, students will learn to prepare their images and expose their screens, pulling prints and learning to register colour. The perfect introduction to screen printing, helping people to create images on paper and textiles, and a useful refresher for those already familiar with the process.
Our friends at Making Space recently emailed a list of new courses that they are running in 2011. Based in Leigh Park, Havant, Making Space are a purpose built craft centre that houses artists studios and workshop areas, including a great space for jewelry making and a well-equipped ceramics room.
There are courses for adults, including Perspex Beads/Bangles with Sarah Macrae on Saturday 12th February; Natural Dyeing with Hilary Charlesworth on Saturday 12th March; Fused Glass & Transfers with Kate O’Connell also on Saturday 12th March and Circle Brooches with Sarah Macrae on Saturday 26th March. Kids events include Making a Giant Inflatable Sea Monster, Fishy Clay Creations and Seaside Jewellry. The centre is safe, friendly and accessible, a great way to get families together and enjoying making things.
The Badger Press in Bishops Waltham is an open access fine art print studio, offering courses to suit everyone. We provide studio hire and training in all aspects of printmaking. Our aim is to promote printmaking and support artists working in the region through guidance, training and a range of arts activities.
