We are excited to welcome printmaker Jan Sherwood to Old Dairy Studio for Printmaking in Nature on 28 - 29 June 2025. This two-day course will take you through sketching in nature, including on a walk through Manningford, before bringing work back to the studio and creating unique monoprints. Lunch will be provided at Old Dairy House on the first day.
Day 1: Sketching day at Old Dairy House, Sharcott. On day one, you will start the day doing some basic drawing exercises and making a concertina sketchbook to take with you on a walk through Manningford. You will be sketching though open fields, paddocks littered with beautiful oak trees and across chalk streams and the river Avon, before returning to Old Dairy House for lunch. The afternoon will be spent sketching around the garden and developing sketches ready for the studio. Throughout the day, you will collect natural objects to sketch later and to use for mark making on day two.
Day 2: Monotype printing at Old Dairy Studio, Pewsey. Jan will demonstrate monotype printmaking using sketches made on day one. Participants will be shown how to take their work from sketches into hand-printed compositions. Monotype is a relief printmaking technique, we will be using rollers and everyday utensils to create image, experimenting with mark-making and different ways of expressing nature through print. This technique is suitable for beginners and can be done at home without a printing press. You will be working on an A4 plate and printing using tissue paper and handmade Japanese paper.
Inspired by nature, Jan Sherwood is a Hampshire based printmaker and textile artist who uses the natural world as a constant source of inspiration. Through her long and varied career in the arts, Jan has mastered several artforms, using a mix of traditional techniques and modern software to create beautiful and original works of art. Jan has a vast amount of teaching experience across all art forms, lecturing at universities including on Winchester School of Art’s Masters programme.
All participants must ensure they are able to walk for two miles (flat, but sometimes uneven ground).
Printmaking in Nature with Jan Sherwood
Participants should bring a range of drawing materials including charcoal, pencils and pens, and an A4/A5 sketchbook. A full equipment list will be emailed prior to the course.
Walking boots/shoes are recommended. Wet weather kit may be required (weather dependent), but hopefully not!
A small camping stool may come in useful for sketching on day one.