After learning about the intricacies of the woodcut technique and examining example prints on display in the folk art exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum, the students were introduced to ways in which people used to indicate ownership in books. In the practical part, they used their own initials as the basis on which to design an ex libris for themselves. This design was transferred onto tracing paper, and then onto a linoleum tile covered with a piece of carbon paper. The most exciting part of the work was the painstaking task of engraving deep lines in the tile with a burin, along the lines left by the outline on the carbon paper. Each pupil made their own linocut, which they could then use to make a print on paper. For many of them, the need to reconcile their idea with the fact that in printmaking everything comes out in mirror image was a great challenge.
The workshop was devised and prepared by Justyna Mazur.
Photographs in the gallery by Tomasz Wiech.