We’re opening up the (virtual) doors to our studio again!
Way back in 2019 we hosted our very first “Print Fest” - a summer celebration showcasing all of the different printmaking practices our artists use at Submit to Love. Not only did we sell lots of work, but our artists finally met so many of the supporters who’d watched us grow from afar. We excitedly planned another for 2020, but we all know what came next…..
With uncertainty lingering around when we can all be together again, we wanted to find a space to share some of our most special prints; telling the stories behind the work, and offering the chance for you to take one home. Scroll down to read more about our printmaking practices or head straight to our shop to buy a print!
So why printing, we hear you say?! Over the years (more than 20!) we’ve hosted and run a fair share of workshops at Submit to Love, and our love affair with printing has endured for a number of key reasons. One: there are so many different printing techniques that we can engage lots of different artists depending on their interests! Two: Print, set, repeat! The nature of printmaking means that many allow you to create multiple works at once or repeat the same pattern over time (which helps develop and refine skillsets). Three: nearly all printmaking practices involve a number of different steps; which means many artists can collaborate and contribute to create one piece.
As part of our original Print Fest event, we asked some of our artists to share what they most enjoyed about printing and why:
Though we've tried our hands at all sorts of printing over the years (including gelli printing, woodcut and more) we wanted to introduce some of our most beloved at the studio……..
SCREENPRINTING
One of our favourite printing projects (back in 2017) saw visiting artist Liz Jeal work with our artists to explore nature & wildlife - resulting in a beautiful series of screenprinted tea towels!
This marked the official start of our love affair with screenprinting, and has since seen us (led by studio staff member Emily) use our skills to print all sorts of things; including our 20th birthday gala dinner menus, notebooks & cards to sell as merchandise, and even fabric bunting to use around the centre!
LINOPRINTING
Possibly one of our most recognisable printing techniques, over the years we’ve cut lino of all sorts of images! Being also slightly easier for artists to try at home than screenprinting, during lockdown Submit to Love artist Sandra put together a video tutorial for people to attempt their own linoprints.
In the last couple of years we’ve also seen our linoprint feature heavily in our public-facing work; using large-scale versions in a box installation at our 2017 Southbank Centre exhibition, and creating a large-scale fabric piece in our forthcoming exhibition with Autograph Gallery. In 2020, our first illustration commission from It’s Nice That was a linoprint project exploring playfulness. We even worked with one of our artists Paul, to create the very special linoprint “Headway font” you’ll see across our website and marketing!
MONOPRINTS, CYANOTYPES & RISOS
In addition to our ongoing printing practices, there are plenty of techniques we’ve explored & enjoyed sporadically over the years! Way back in 2016 we loved creating cyanotypes on a sunny day - watching the sun expose images we had adorned with greenery! We also had lots of fun heading to Rabbits Road Press in 2019 to explore the new wonder that was risograph printing - layering up our images in many colours!
We first tried monoprinting at few years back at the studio, but in the last year we’ve seen its popularity grow thanks to the skills of studio artist Billy who put together his own Cut Price Portraits online tutorial - which he then delivered in-person to the Barbican Centre, Accumulate, and of course of own artists!
In addition to making - we love sharing our work both online and in-person! One particular highlight was our print-based exhibition “Oh To Be Human” with Could Be Good gallery back in October 2018. We’ve also taken part in the 20:20 print exchange. We’re filled with joy every time we hear from a happy customer who has bought a print or enjoyed one of our events! Whilst we’ve taken things virtually this Spring, we’re hoping that 2021 sees a return to the good old fashioned Open Studio at our Haggerston base. Please sign up to our mailing list in our footer to keep up-to-date and thank you for your continued support of Submit to Love!
