Life in Lino

This event will be bookable on Monday 3 August 2026.

Create unique lino prints inspired by everyday life.

Over five weeks we will take inspiration from aspects from your everyday life – people, places, activities or objects – and transform them into linocuts. Learn the basic techniques to carve your lino plate and enjoy the experimental side of inking and printing up your design to create a series of exciting and vigorous prints.

Week 1

Introduction to the basic tools through demonstration and learn how to carve lino exploring the use of mark making, with one-to-one help. Explore images of everyday life that could be developed into a print, such as familiar buildings, still life objects or portraits of people.

Week 2

With tutor support, develop a design for your print and learn through demonstration how to transfer your drawing onto the lino and begin carving the white areas away. You will learn how to ink up a plate to take a print basic print.

Week 3

Develop plates, carving away more areas to create a reduction print. Experiment with different inking up techniques and registration processes to create multiple prints.

Week 4

Experiment with overlapping plates, rotating and offsetting, how to use a printing press and experiment with printing on different thickness papers.

Week 5

Understand how to create a series of prints through example work, discussion and demonstration and learn the technique of Chine Collé to enhance your final series of prints.

About the tutor:

Tutor Jo Shearer is an artist and art educator from Leicestershire. Jo believes that art is for everyone. After teaching art in secondary schools and colleges in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire for over 10 years she moved into one-to-one tuition and workshops. She enjoys nurturing creativity and developing skills to build confidence, and recognises the therapeutic benefits achieved through the process of making. She loves the freedom of working in a variety of media and has a passion for printmaking.

Further information:

Suitable for absolute beginners and those with some experience of lino printing who’d like to develop their skills.

This five-week course will run on Tuesday afternoons, 1:30pm – 4:30pm, starting on 19 January, with the final session on 16 February 2027.

All materials and equipment will be provided. Please come in old clothes and/or bring an apron as printing can get messy! We do have aprons to borrow too 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 read and 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).