This Autumn, I'm very happy to be starting Screen Printing and Photoshop® Masterclass Workshops in my studio. Just over two years ago I was about to set these up when my dad died and I put the whole plan on the back burner.
Below is the press release that came out today! For more info and booking please visit https://sampickard.bigcartel.com (or via the link image on the side of my blog).
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release 21.8.14
Sam Pickard Masterclass Workshops in Screen Printing for Textiles
An internationally acclaimed textile designer is to hold
Masterclass workshops for the first time at her Devon studio. Multi-award winner
Sam Pickard, whose stunning floral and moorland wildlife designs have sold
worldwide, will be holding two day introductory classes in textile screen
printing in October and November, in South Molton.
“I am very excited about these classes, and I am looking
forward to sharing my skills with people who are serious about learning how to screen
print onto fabric, who are enthusiastic and creative, and perhaps want to work
towards setting up on their own. I have experience working as a university
lecturer with large classes of students, but this is the first time I will be
teaching very small groups. I am looking at a maximum of 5 people in each
workshop, so that I can offer everyone plenty of individual attention.”
The Introduction to Textile Screen Printing courses will run
on 16th and 17th October, and 20th and 21st November 2014. Each workshop costs
£250, and will be held in Sam’s spacious premises in South
Molton. Beginners are welcome. Some drawing or design ability would be useful,
but is not essential.
Participants on the course will learn how drawings can be
translated onto acetate, how colour separations take place and how to work with
a silk screen. They will also be introduced to different dyes and finishes. “There
is something so exciting about screen printing,” says Sam. “It is a fantastic
moment when you lift the screen to see the print. I am hoping to convey some of
this excitement to the people on my courses. Everyone will have the chance to
create their own individual design, printed onto linen. So they will come away
with a textile print they can use perhaps to make a cushion or something for
their home. It will be a unique and original piece of work, which they have put
emotional and creative energy into, and hopefully enjoyed making.”
Sam’s exquisite floral designs have won acclaim all over the
world. Sam has exhibited at top shows including 100% Design, the Chelsea Crafts
Fair and New York and San Francisco Trade Fairs. She is the winner of the prestigious RSA
Design in Industry Award, and the RSA Travel Award. Two of her designs were
also short listed for the British Design Awards. Closer to home, she is winner
of the Devon Guild’s Summer Exhibition President Award.
Her distinctive drawing style combines a bold, modern freshness
with the delicate detail and precision of traditional botanical artists. She gains
inspiration from her love of the outdoors, and her designs capture the
individuality and personality of particular plants with a sense of tenderness
and intimacy. Increasingly she is using the exact colours found in nature. Since
2010 she has kept a blog, drawing plants from the North Devon coast and Exmoor,
documenting their colours and matching them to CMYK. “I have a deep love of nature and am
fascinated by the variety of colours found in plants. Each time I look closely
at a plant I am drawing, I am impressed by the incredible intricacy of the
structure, and the range of colours. My blog is now influencing the choice of
colours in my screen printing.”
For more information about Sam’s textile screen printing workshops,
and to book a place on the courses, visit www.sampickard.bigcartel.com
Sam is also holding two day workshops on Photoshop® for
Textile Design, run jointly with her husband Peter Bishop, a graphic designer and
an Adobe Certified Instructor in Photoshop®. These are aimed at professionals
who want to learn about digital techniques used in textile printing. The
Photoshop® courses will be held in South Molton in January/February 2015. For
more details visit www.sampickard.bigcartel.com
I'm very grateful to Jan Spencer of http://womensdevelopmentunlimited.org.uk/ and the women in the Business Action Group for their invaluable support and encouragement, to James Lochhead for his literary input, and finally to Debbie Manners at http://www.ndmedia.co.uk/ for this press release! Thank you.
