Week 1

Exciting times! The Women’s Art Group has started! It was so lovely to welcome local women into the studio for the afternoon to learn some basic printing techniques. Some popped in before the school run, some on their way home from early shifts at work, others after a trip to the Forge. I love that art can bring together women at different stages of life to chat and learn from each other. I can’t wait to see this group grow over the next few weeks!

Week 2

We continued with our printmaking this week- building on the basics we learnt in week one. I introduced the idea of layering different images and textures and it was inspiring to see what was achievable in such a short time. Joanne used a photocopy of Parkhead Library as her starting point and made a series of vibrant layered monoprints. Margaret started on an ambitious scene of the Barrowlands so it will be exciting to see how that evolves next week!

 

Michelle made a really impressive collage- an angel- from monoprinted papers layered together with a photocopied image she brought from home. It’s been great to see the women really embrace the class- bringing their own interests and life stories to the table and turning them into something creative.

Week 3

This week we began to think about moving onto printing on fabric. While some finished  their prints from last week others began planning their design for their handmade tote bags. As we don’t have access to screen printing in the studio we had to think of other ways to print. Painting onto a printing plate with fabric ink to monoprint the bags worked well as long as we worked quickly and kept the image simple. We also experimented with cutting stamps and stamping directly onto the bags.

Week 4

An international vibe at Parkhead Women’s Art Group this week! It was nice to see these designs coming together- many of the bags were designed especially as gifts to send to friend’s abroad or for Mother’s Day.

The group has really caught the printmaking bug so I spoke about ways they could try to carry on printing at home (as today was our last class!) This class has been a great group to work with- Wednesday’s at the studio have felt so full of energy- a true snapshot of Parkhead life. It has been lovely being able to stop to chat to these women when we see each other on the street now. I think these little interactions which go beyond the studio are a simple way to form a sense of community. I know these women will keep on looking out for each other once these classes have ended and some have already made plans to meet up!

“I enjoyed learning new things and hopefully it will inspire me to be more creative at home.”

“I enjoyed sharing the class with other people. I had a nice time. It was relaxing”