In 2024, mature student, Lindsey Nguyen from Beeston signed up for Nottingham College’s part-time Lino Printmaking course, dedicating one evening a week to exploring the art of relief printing. Working in marketing by day, Lindsey was keen to find an art focused course where she could learn something new after work. The 10-week course provided a fun, hands-on way to develop new skills, meet like-minded people, and rediscover the joy of making time for creativity.
We caught up with Lindsey to find out her thoughts on the experience:
Why did you decide to study the adult part time lino printing course?
I enjoy learning new skills and do a lot of workshops and creative classes in my spare time. I had previously done the life drawing course at Nottingham College in 2023 which I loved. I hadn’t really done any lino printing before, so it was a great opportunity to do something different.
Why did you choose to study this at Nottingham College?
The course was very reasonably priced, a lot of similar courses elsewhere cost a lot more and are usually one or two days only, but at the college you get 10 classes. It was easy for me to travel to the city centre location too for the evening classes and I liked how all the materials were included in the course fees, so I didn’t need to buy anything in advance.
What did you enjoy about lino printing?
I loved the variety of different techniques and how we learnt something new each week. There were a range of tools and a huge old Victorian printing press which was really fun to use. I made quite a few different prints and was able to take them home with me.
What were your first impressions of the lino printing course and the learning environment at Nottingham College?
There was a range of great equipment that we were able to use at the Stoney Street campus, and I liked the relaxed atmosphere. It was nice getting to know other people in the class too and see the work they produced. The teacher was super helpful and went around everyone in the class to answer any questions and offer support and suggestions and even showed examples of her own work.
What specific skills or techniques did you learn during the course?
I learnt the different cutting techniques and how to layer different coloured inks. It took me a while to get used to how everything you cut will be a mirror image when you print it, so you had to initially draw/stencil backwards on the lino!
Do you feel the course helped improve your creativity both personally and professionally?
Definitely, it was so nice to have a dedicated evening to be creative every week, I always looked forward to it. Doing art classes at the college is a great and low-cost way to learn new skills and stay creatively inspired.
Would you recommend part-time creative courses at Nottingham College to working professionals?
Absolutely! I’d recommend the creative courses to anyone who wants to do something fun after work and learn something new. I’m also hoping to expand on my skills in future and learn screen-printing and other printing techniques. I’d also love to do one of the college’s Ceramics courses!
