North Hertfordshire College’s Level 1 and 2 Art & Design learners enjoyed their recent employer project with Dekkle Fine Art & Printmaking, a local independent studio! This exciting opportunity is thanks to Dekkle’s engagement in NHC’s Give a Future campaign, which sees local businesses offer guidance and share their experience with learners to help them launch their own successful careers.
David Borrington, Dekkle’s owner and founder, visited our learners to launch the project. During his introduction session, David shared details about the studio’s history, their process of creating bespoke artwork for clients, and the way the studio uses specialist traditional equipment and techniques. Our students had the opportunity to see physical prints from artists that David and Dekkle had worked with, which demonstrated the way print can be applied and how this can change the outcome of a piece.
With their heads full of inspiration, our learners were ready for their employer-set challenge of using lino printing techniques to create an original piece of art themed around symbols. The project featured an added bonus, too – Dekkle would select some of the best designs and invite the winners for a day in the studio and the opportunity to generate their own prints with the equipment!
Learners from across NHC’s Level 1 and 2 programmes got stuck in with their initial research and generating ideas, sketching out designs and experimenting with printing techniques as their plans evolved. Some of the symbols and themes learners explored included religion, mental health, and animal wellbeing. Check out some of their designs:
Student feedback from the project was very positive, with learners praising the opportunity to be creative and to try out different techniques. Lily Wren-Crosk, one of NHC’s Level 1 Art & Design students, told us: “It has made me think about creating more prints in future projects, whether that be mono printing or litho printing.” Having the opportunity to hear from an established printmaker has also opened our learners up to think about different career pathways, with Level 2 Art & Design student Ella Brown commenting: “I enjoyed the experience as I was able to try a new form of art, and it’s given me an insight into where art can take you.”
Rachel Clark, Deputy Head of Creative Arts at North Hertfordshire College, told us: “The brief set by the employer was exciting and engaging. It was great to see the students respond individually and to push the medium of print. The visit from David, the founder of Dekkle, provided an invaluable insight into the industry and what running a print studio entails. The winners are very excited to attend the studio for a day with David and the opportunity to generate their own prints from a plate they’ve pre-prepared. This is an amazing hands-on experience for our learners and a great chance to further their own practice.”
David Borrington, Dekkle’s owner and founder, has also found the collaboration to be a positive experience. He told us: “It’s been a good experience working with the College this year, and particularly these groups of young people. The students produced some really interesting and effective pieces of work. The group visiting the studio got to grips with the equipment very well – we are all enjoying seeing the improvement in quality of prints that comes from using the professional press.”
Thank you again to Dekkle Fine Art & Printmaking for helping to Give a Future to our students! We’re looking forward to seeing our students’ creations from the studio visit soon.
To find out more about NHC’s Give a Future campaign and how your organisation can get involved, please visit our webpage.