workshops

Celebrating Our Printing Journey: 2025 Highlights

Happy Solstice! We wrapped up 2025 in style with the last of our community workshops at the studio on December 13. It was a grand event full of laughter and joy. We saw repeat faces and many new ones. It was an afternoon of printing rainbow rolled snowflakes, creating Plasticine stamps, and printing golden wishes for 2026 with metal type on a vintage CP Pilot press.

We began hosting free public workshops in different rural communities in July. We hadn’t expected so many folks would get involved. We are thrilled seeing your creativity and passion for printmaking. Thank you everyone for sharing your time, and interest.

We are grateful to Arts Nova Scotia for supporting our pilot project, Living Histories, Storied Places, through its Artists in Communities grant. We are particularly grateful to the EGPS Board and members. They went above and beyond as the project organizers and instructors.

Now in the duller, colder days of winter, EGPS will take a short break from workshops. There will be no open studio days. This allows members to have personal work time in the studio or just recharge.

The studio continues to be open for members and welcomes new members for 2026. If you caught the printmaking bug, and you wish to take up the roller, get in touch about the various levels of membership offered. You can also visit the Membership page on our website for details.

Living Histories, Storied Places Full Schedule

Our first workshop in the Living Histories & Storied Places project took place last weekend at a local cafe and community hotspot in the village of Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia. It was a huge success with plenty of folks of all ages participating! Many created their own simple relief prints and then expressed themselves with personally chosen words in letterpress. As each visual story was revealed at the press, people, sometimes complete strangers, traded personal stories with one another in a relaxed, fun space. Lorna Mulligan and Katie Prescott, EGPS instructors, guided this casual workshop and had a blast helping everyone discover the joys of printmaking!

The full schedule of workshops is complete, with our next session on August 23, 2025. Free for all. No registration required. Just show up and tell your story.

August 23, 10am-1pm
Rosa M. Harvey Middleton and Area Library 45 Gates Street, Middleton, Nova Scotia

September 27, 10am-1pm
Bridgetown Area Library, 38 Queen Street, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia

October 25, 11am-2pm
Annapolis Royal Library, 143 Ritchie Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

November 23, 2-5pm
Oakdene Centre Bear River, 1913 Clementsvale Road, Bear River

Dec. 13, 1-4pm
EGPS Studio, 240 St. George Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia



Living Histories, Storied Places

Try something new! Elephant Grass Printmakers’ Society (EGPS) is hitting the road!  Bringing printmaking and its possibilities directly to neighbouring communities in Annapolis County with a project called Living Histories & Storied Places. Like many arts organizations, EGPS is re-imagining its role in the community beyond providing a space for artists to make their work. We want to find ways to bring members of diverse communities together, share our experiences, and shape these into art by offering free workshops and making new connections.  Our first two gatherings are already on the calendar, and stay tuned for dates leading up to our December event at the Elephant Grass Printmakers space in Annapolis Royal. 

Hands-On Printmaking Activities for Everyone

July 27th

Join Elephant Grass Printmakers for letterpress & simple printmaking at Bee’s Knees General Store and Bakery. Express yourself!

Time: 2-5 pm
Location: Bee’s Knees General Store and Bakery, 498 Main Street., Lawrencetown, NS

Instructors: Katie Prescott and Lorna Mulligan

August 23rd

Letterpress & textile relief printmaking, create art at the Middleton and Area library. Try something new!

Time: 10am to 1pm
Location: Middleton & Area Library, 45 Gates Avenue, Middleton, NS
Instructors: Julie Rosvall and Katie Prescott

More dates and locations are being added soon, so keep checking back. Visit us @egpcprintmakers on Instagram or Elephant Grass Printmakers on Facebook.

This relationship-building project gives us the opportunity to transform individual artist connections with nearby communities into deeper connections with the larger EGPS group. We believe a free printmaking workshop (with snacks!) is the perfect way. Each gathering, EGPS will come together in a community space, provide tea and snacks, two hours of printmaking instruction and play, and an hour for chatting and brainstorming future projects and prospects with participants. A final session on letterpress printing will be held at the EGPS studio in Annapolis Royal for anyone who wishes to participate, using less portable equipment, like metal type, antique advertising, and other images, and the platen press used to print from these materials.

This project is supported by Arts Nova Scotia’s Artists in Communities program.

INK, PAPER, POSSIBILITY

an introduction to relief printmaking

Sundays, 1-3pm, April 6, 13, 20, 27

This workshop is suitable for beginners and those with some printmaking experience. In this four-week class participants will learn the basics—and move beyond them—as we explore the possibilities of linocut, a versatile and accessible relief printmaking medium. Learn how to carve expressively, work with a range of papers and inking techniques, and get comfortable with the etching press. The possibilities are endless!

Basma is a Lebanese-Canadian artist whose multidisciplinary practice includes writing, drawing, printmaking, artist’s books, textiles, performance and land-based explorations. She lives in the Annapolis Valley, in the Sipekne’katik region of Mi’kma’ki.

$140 (members) $165 (non-members) Suitable for 18yrs. and up.

Register by contacting elephantgrassprint@gmail.com Payment via e-transfer, cash, or cheque. *Become an Associate Member ($50), get the workshop discount and future studio time for $20/day.

240 St. George Street, 2nd floor, Annapolis Royal

Follow us @egpcprintmakers or on Elephant Grass Printmakers Society FB page

PAINT, PLAY, PRINT: an interpretation of Nature through simple printmaking workshop.

Starting in February 2025, EGPS will be launching our 2025 workshops in four Thursday afternoons at the studio with Lorna Mulligan, exploring Nature with simple printmaking techniques.

Ease into printmaking through hands-on creative play and spend four afternoons with Lorna Mulligan. We’ll take a painterly, mixed-media approach which will involve lots of fun experimentation with simple printmaking ideas including monoprint and relief printing, letterpress, collage, embossing and ink marbling. The theme is: your interpretation of NATURE. You’ll learn a bit about composition and colour harmonies along the way, as we combine and layer our printed papers full of beautiful colour, textures and imagery.

Most material is supplied! Students are encouraged to bring some of their own papers to print upon, including found papers. Bring pencils, ruler, eraser, scissors and glue stick. EGPS will supply the printing ink, plates and the fine art papers for printing.

Lorna Mulligan is an artist, calligrapher and teacher who has recently moved to Nova Scotia from Montreal. She studied at the University of British Columbia and at the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts. Her watercolours, artist’s books and mixed media artworks have been exhibited across Canada, in the US, and in Europe. She has been teaching art for over twenty-five years.

THURSDAYS, 12:30 – 2:30pm, FEB 13, 20, 27 and MARCH 6

$140 (members)* 165 (non-members) Suitable for 15yrs above. Why not renew your Membership or become an Associate Member now ($50) and get the discount?

Registration and payment can be made via e-transfer to elephantgrassprint@gmail.com, or by cash or cheque.

 Elephant Grass Printmaking Studio , 240 St. George Street, 2nd floor, Annapolis Royal, NS


PAINT, PLAY, PRINT!  Weekly Schedule

Wk 1 – Black ink, with brush and brayer, also the start of creating stamps and relief plates

Wk 2 – Printing on large papers, plus metallic ink on black paper, colored ink exploration

Wk 3 – Monoprinting various ways, some embossing and start of Tetrapak plate drawings

Wk 4 – Printing Tetrapak prints, Letterpress words or phrases, assemble artwork into folder

Take a risk – Reduction Print Workshop in April!

reductionWORKSHOP 72dpiReduction Lino Block Workshop with Laura MacDonald of Deep Hollow Print

April 7 Saturday to April 8 Sunday 10am to 4pm

$150 EGPC members, $160 non-members

Materials fee: $10 (includes lino block, inks, paper) payable to Laura

Reduction method is a printmaking technique when a multicolored print is made with the use of a single block, cutting away more and more of the image in between the printing of each colour/layer. Each layer necessarily fits inside the layer before it. The block is destroyed in the process and a true reprint can never be done.

In this 2-day workshop, you will learn the process of conceiving and executing a reduction print, and make your own on a tabletop Nolan proof press. Using mounted lino blocks, you will carve a two-layer reduction image. We will print them on scored cardstock so that you will have a 5×7 greeting card at the end.

Each workshop participant should bring their own lino-carving tool. 4×6″ type high linoblock and paper will be provided for $10 payable to the instructor. Type high lino blocks may also be printed by hand, on an etching press or on letterpress.

About Laura

Laura MacDonald is the owner/operator of Deep Hollow Print, an award-winning letterpress print shop in Kentville, NS. Laura learned the art of letterpress printing during her time at Gaspereau Press in Kentville, Nova Scotia and Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee. She prints on a 1930s-era Vandercook No. 3 cylinder press using antique wood type and original carved linoblocks. Deep Hollow Print specializes in gig posters, but is able to take on a range of custom letterpress orders, as well as digital graphic design work. See more of Laura’s work at www.deephollowprint.com

Advance Registration required as space is limited.

How to Register: use the contact form below

Fees payable at time of registration by etransfer or cheque payable to Elephant Grass print Collective

Location: Elephant Grass print Collective, 30 School Street, Parker’s Cove, NS

 

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Fall Workshops, Workshops , workshop

Reduction Lino Block Workshop with Laura MacDonald of Deep Hollow Print

Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, 2Reduction workshop header copy017 10am to 4pm

Reduction method is a printmaking technique when a multicolored print is made with the use of a single block, cutting away more and more of the image in between the printing of each colour/layer. Each layer necessarily fits inside the layer before it. The block is destroyed in the process and a true reprint can never be done.

Over 2 days you will learn the process of conceiving and executing a reduction print, and make your own on a tabletop proof press. Using mounted lino blocks, you will carve a two-layer reduction image. We will print them on scored cardstock so that you will have a 5×7 greeting card to take away. Type high linoblock and paper will be provided for a small cost.

Laura MacDonald is the owner/operator of Deep Hollow Print, an award-winning letterpress printshop in Kentville, NS. She prints cards and posters on her Vandercook cylinder press using original carvings and antique wood type.

http://www.deephollowprint.com/

Workshop Fee:$150 members,  $160 non-members (cash, e-transfer or cheque payable to EGPC upon registration)

Materials fee: $ 10 (includes lino block, inks, paper) Payable to instructor. Participants should bring their own lino-carving tool.

The workshop is being held at Elephant Grass Print Collective, 30 School Street, Parker’s Cove, NS.  Contact us to register or for more info.

Love under Pressure

Sweet heartLove Under Pressure – a Valentine’s Day card making day!

Sunday, February, 2nd 10am-4pm

In this day long workshop participants will be introduced to basic linocutting techniques, carve a small block and then print either by hand pulling or by press. Each participant will come away with four cards and a carved block that can be reused to print more cards or artwork

Cost: $35 which includes all materials. This workshop is limited to six participants.

Our Valentine’s Day card making workshop is full but you can still get on the waiting list.

email elephantgrassprint@gmail.com to subscribe to our advance notice email lists!

*A ‘snowdate’ has been set for February the 9th in case of inclement weather.