Drawings in Drypoint

Online booking will be available on Monday 2 March.

Discover the art of drypoint in this one-day hands-on workshop.

Learn to create rich lines, texture, and shading on plates, experiment with mark-making, and produce your own expressive prints. Perfect for beginners or anyone looking to explore this printmaking technique.

By the end of the day, you’ll be able to:

• Prepare and etch a plate using drypoint techniques.
• Apply different marks, textures, and tonal effects to create expressive prints.
• Ink and print their plate successfully on paper.
• Reflect on their printed outcomes, identifying techniques to develop further.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the creative possibilities of drypoint printmaking.

Discover the tactile and expressive world of drypoint printmaking in this hands-on, one-day workshop. You’ll learn the fundamentals of the technique, including how to prepare plates, use etching tools safely, and experiment with line, texture, and shading. Through guided demonstrations and practical exercises, you’ll explore a range of mark-making approaches—from delicate lines to bold, expressive scratches—and see how these translate into printed images.

You will also learn how to ink, wipe, and print your plate onto paper, gaining an understanding of how pressure, ink consistency, and technique affect the final result. By the end of the day, you’ll have your own expressive prints to take home and an understanding of drypoint techniques that you can continue to explore.

Tutor Jo will demonstrate how to cut and knot the felt and how to build up the layers on the frame. You’ll be able to choose your own felt colour scheme and select seasonal embellishments from a range provided.

About the tutor:

Tutor Jo Shearer is an artist and art educator living and working in Leicestershire. Her belief is that art is for everyone. It is another language for expressing and communicating our experiences, thoughts and emotions which often reflect the world around us and how we fit into it. Art can demonstrate a tremendous level of skill and be aesthetically pleasing; however, the greatest strength is in its capacity to express and unite people. Jo studied Visual BA (Hons) Arts and English Literature and a PGCE in secondary art. She taught in schools and colleges in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire for over 10 years.

After leaving mainstream education she continued her love of teaching through tutoring and went on to develop workshops like this one. She enjoys the freedom to work in a variety of media and has an ever-increasing love for print. She enjoys nurturing creativity and developing individuals’ skills to build confidence in their own work as well as evoking a sense of calm and release of emotions through the process of making. Her personal work explores the spaces that we inhabit, the collection of experiences and emotions that connect us to a place and the inherent beauty of the natural world in all its forms.

Further information:

This one-day workshop will run on Tuesday 7 July 2026, 10am – 4pm, with a short break for lunch. Our café will be open or you are welcome to bring your own refreshments.

All materials and equipment will be provided. Please come in old clothes and/or bring an apron as printing can get messy! We also have aprons available to borrow if you prefer.

Participants must be aged 14+. Under 18s must be accompanied by a paying adult at all times.

If the course/workshop you’d like to book is sold out, we do operate a waiting list – simply contact our box office team on 0116 252 2455 / arts-centre@le.ac.uk and ask to be added to the waiting list. We’ll then contact you if a place becomes available, with absolutely no obligation to accept it if you’ve made other plans!

Please ensure that you agree to our updated Terms & Conditions before booking as courses/workshops are non-refundable if cancelled within 21 days of the start date for any reason.

We aim to make all our sessions as accessible as possible and carers/PAs are very welcome – just remember to book their free place when you book your session. If you’d like to talk to us in advance of booking or attending your sessions to discuss your access needs, our Box Office team is here to help! Email arts-centre@le.ac.uk, pop in or call 0116 252 2455, open 7 days a week.

We have four blue badge parking spaces outside Attenborough Arts Centre, plus double yellow line roadside parking very close to the building for blue badge holders for up to three hours if our parking spaces are occupied.

Free parking for all customers is available after 5pm on weekdays and all day at weekends in the University of Leicester car park next door to Attenborough Arts Centre on Lancaster Road.

The closest public car park for parking at all other times is Victoria Park, 5-10 minutes walk from us (near De Montfort Hall).