Hot Bed Press
Hot Bed Press Printmakers' Studio | The Casket Works, Cow Lane, Salford. M5 4NB | Tel: 0161 743 3111 | Email: info@hotbedpress.org
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  • April13th

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    As many of you will know we are currently in the process of a large expansion of the workshop including the installation of a new roof and windows, skylights and studios. As a result we are opening our bookings for all Complete courses for 2018 early giving you the chance to book and save £100.00 on the course fee. This will help us greatly with our cashflow and to generate funds to complete the work, making the workshop bigger, brighter and better for the future.

    This is for all 2018 Complete Courses (Printmaker/Book Artist and Letterpress Printer)

    The offer is open for a limited time only until July 31st 2017 and requires you to pay for the course in full (Ā£1,100). The courses run from Feb – December 2018.

    You can pay by Bank Transfer, Credit or Debit Card.

    If you would like to take up this offer please contact Andy in the office by emailing info@hotbedpress.org or calling 0161 743 3111.

  • December9th

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    We are really excited to be running our year-long course in Book Arts in 2017.

    Run over 2 terms of 15 weeks this course is aimed at artists looking to explore and develop ideas through the form of the artists’ book. The course is not accredited, but students will ā€˜graduate’ with a Hot Bed Press certificate in Book Arts.

    Throughout the 30 weeks you will develop knowledge of materials and techniques and will learn how to make a variety of book structures. These range from simple yet fascinating structures to more challenging multi-section hard-bound books. You will also learn how to make a beautiful clam-shell portfolio box to house some of the great books you have made on the course.

    As well as equipping you with technical knowledge, the course will challenge you to explore narrative, sequencing, text & image, the relationship between form and content and how you can use the book form to interrogate and push your own practice and ideas.

    Recent students from the course have developed the skills and confidence to make editions that have been exhibited and sold at both Liverpool and Manchester Artists’ Book Fair.

    The course will also bring in a number of guest tutors to give hands-on introductions to various non-digital printing methods, including risograph, mono printing, letterpress, silk-screen and relief printing to help you develop and realise the ideas that connect the form and content of your books.

    The Complete Book Artist will be tutored on Tuesday evenings between 6.00pm and 9.00pm with an additional 4 hours access to the workshop throughout the week. [Open hours are Mondays to Fridays 10am – 5pm plus Thursday evening to 9.00pm and the last Saturday of every month 11am – 4.00pm.]

    All students wanting more than 4 hours access per week will also be able to ā€˜top-up’ their hours with usage in the workshop.

    About the tutor:

    Sylvia Waltering makes and publishes books as one half of Battenburg Press. She is an artist working with a variety of media, including photography, text, installation and
    artists’ books. This will be the fourth year that Sylvia runs the Complete Book Artist at
    Hot Bed Press and she also has fifteen years’ teaching experience as a lecturer at
    Manchester School of Art.

    Her books and installation work often involve domestic objects and (fictional) collections, exploring their narrative possibilities. Sylvia’s books have been exhibited internationally and her publications are held in private and public collections in the UK, Denmark, Hungary, Australia and the US.

    Exhibitions:

    Since the course started back in 2014, CBA students have exhibited collectively at Liverpool and Manchester Art Book Fair. Some students have also developed their practice to exhibit work independently at book fairs in Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, London and even in Norway.

    The 2015 class still meet regularly and continue to work on collaborative book projects. A number of students have gone on to study the Complete Printmaker and Complete Letterpress Printer courses continuing to expand their skills and practice.

    Here are some of the things previous participants have said about the course:

    *
    “It has been a great 30 weeks and I have learnt so much, met some amazing
    people and got to use and feel confident using Hot Bed Press’ facilities. Sylvia
    is a great, patient and kind teacher/mentor.

    ‘She really inspires me to be more creative.’

    ‘Great course and I would highly recommend it’

    ‘Excellent, excellent class.’

    ‘A thoroughly enjoyable course.’

    The cost is £600.00 per term / £1,200 for the year
    You can secure a place on the course by making a deposit of £300.00 (This can be paid in installments if needed) Then payments are made by standing order monthly throughout 2017 from Feb to October 2017.

    Call the workshop to book your place!

  • November23rd

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    We are really pleased to announce that we will be running our year-long course in Letterpress Printing from February 2017.

    Our new course is due to run on Wednesday Evenings from 6pm – 9pm and we will be running our Thursday morning Complete Letterpress Printer as usual from 10am – 1pm. So you have a choice to sign up for the Wednesday evening or the Thursday morning sessions.

    Spend a year immersed in the wonderful world of letterpress. This course will teach you the art and craft of letterpress printing, using both wood type and metal type, and a range of presses, from table-top Adana presses to traditional Albion & Columbian iron hand-presses. Learn age-old practices, perfected over five hundred years, and combine those skills with contemporary and experimental techniques to produce stunning, tactile and original prints, postcards, cards, chapbooks, artists’ books and lots more besides.

    Discover the language of letterpress: how to mind your p’s and q’s, how not to get the wrong end of the stick or become out of sorts; experiment with borders and rules, muttons and nuts, fists and flowers. Learn simple measuring systems, and how to use a variety of tools and equipment. Delight in different typefaces, plain and fancy; from Garamond to Gill to Grotesque, Albertus to Windsor.

    The course is designed for beginners, or those with only a little experience, and will cover all aspects of both setting and printing type. You will also get the opportunity to create your own polymer blocks and combine text and image. You will be supported in developing your own unique letterpress projects throughout the course in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

  • November24th

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    Running from 21st November to 3rd January a group of Printmakers from the second year of our Complete Printmaker course are exhibiting at Dover Gallery in Sedbergh.

    Printworks is an exhibition showcasing the artworks of a number of printmakers from Hot Bed Press and features a variety of traditional printmaking techniques including Drypoint, Etching, Collagraph, Linocut, Waterless Lithography and Screenprinting.

    The show runs from 21st November 2015 to 3rd of January 2016 and is open daily from 1030am – 430pm.

    Dover Gallery
    Farfield Mill
    Garsdale Rd
    Sedbergh
    LA10 5LW

  • June9th

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    We are having a Wayzgoose Print Fair on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June.

    Doors open between 11am & 5pm.

    It’s free entry so please just turn up!

    There’s so much happening. We will be taking over more of the first floor. There will be specially created shops selling printed goods and lots of artists’ stalls selling prints and cards. We will have a big print sale in the main room and free demonstrations throughout the weekend.

    So far, featured artists will include : Nell Smith, Lesley Pangburn, Christine Towers, Barbara Helm, Kiran Williams, Jan Slater, Wendy North, Sam Horsley, Irena Przybyl, Nikki Darham, Loretta Venters, Claire Batt and Elizabeth Willow.

    This is our fundraiser which will go towards our ambitious plans to buy the building. Any money raised will go towards equipping the new and improved facilities. The more money we raise the better equipped we will be. We are even having a cake sale.

    There will be new posters and t-shirts printed, aprons and cards specially commissioned.

    Come along. All are welcome. Tell your friends.

  • September5th

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    For some time now we have been working behind the scenes to try to secure the long term future of Hot Bed Press. We have put in a proposal to buy The Casket Works from Salford City Council. If everything goes to plan we will take on the whole building. Our plans include accommodating all other tenants in the building whilst expanding Hot Bed Press to create a workshop on 3 floors, taking on part of the ground floor to enable full access.

    We are really excited about the prospect. Should our proposal be accepted we will be looking to double in size once again,Ā to create more print facilities, to invest inĀ more equipment, (potentially including textile and stone lithography areas), and to develop even better education facilities, a gallery and even a cafe. We have exciting plans for residencies, bursaries and more placement opportunities and much more besides…

    Decisions on the sale of the building rest with the Deputy Mayor of Salford, but currently market testing for other potential buyers is being undertaken to see if anyone else may be interested in buying the building. We hope to know more in the coming weeks.

    We have done everything we can and have so far met all conditions on the purchase of the building in our proposals, including major and ongoing investment in Ā The Casket WorksĀ and a backlog of repairs and upgrades that need to be met, so we are hopeful of a positive conclusion to be announced soon.

     

     

  • June25th

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    Newcastle plays host to The International Print Biennale from 27th June to 9th August.

    It’s great to see printmaking held in such a big spotlight. With so many venues and artists taking part the festival will give insights and inspiration for anyone interested in print.

    We applaud Northern Print Studio for their initiative which has grown since it’s inception in 2009 to become a major event attracting 153,000 visitors in 2011.

    Sean Rorke, Artistic Director of Hot Bed Press will be attending a symposium ‘celebrating print – its past, its present and its future’ on Friday, (27th June).

    and Hot Bed Press gets a good mention in some publicity through Creative Tourist. See here for a brief read.

  • September20th

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    Our latest courses are out now and we are taking bookings. We have all manner of courses to suit the budding printmaker and even advanced courses for the experienced printmaker looking for something new to try, another string to the bow.

    Ā 

    Our first course starts on 6th October with Photo-screen and with Lucy May Schofield’s Pop-up Book Arts Surgeries to follow on Sunday 21st we should get the season off to a flying start.

    Ā 

    Have a look at our courses in the course section of the website for more details.Ā 

  • March29th

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    It’s always nice to see new people come into our humble little workshop andĀ discover the delights of printmaking, especially when they produce such vibrant, colourful and creative work from the start.

    Meet Ian Footitt who recently took one of our hugely popular screenprinting courses with John Powell-Jones aka SAVWO (Savage Wolf) and felt inspired to write about the experience on his blog.

    Most of the time I sit behind my shiny Mac designing shiny widgets and websites but sometimes I just want to get my hands dirty.Ā I loved the whole processĀ creating the print but seeing the image take shape as the layers of colour are overlaid was particularly satisfying.Ā I think I’ll be signing up for a membership at Hot Bed PressĀ now I’ve caught the bug again!

    Hop on over to Ian’s blog to read the full article, and see more of his brilliant photos.

    Have you been on one of our courses? What did you think? Let us know..!

    (Image credits: Ian Footitt)