Vicky Crawford

Vicky's thoughtful approach and innovative making skills during the National Design Craft & Art awards won over five judges with her unique collagraph print, made up of natural materials that birds use to build their own homes. She refers to birds as ‘hedgerow engineers’. The piece was quietly simple, but brilliantly executed and printed on recycled tetra pack.

It was this deep respect for the natural world and the highly considered engagement with materials that compelled the Leitrim Design House to collaborate. Her gentle, sustainable approach to making aligns closely with the aims of the workshop series. Over three days spread across three consecutive weeks, the Leitrim-based artist will work with the local community — exploring lino block printing, collagraph, and dry point techniques using a combination of new and used fabrics alongside recycled materials.

All workshops are €10 and include tea or coffee. Places for each workshop are limited, and booking is essential.

Wednesday 15 July, 10:30am — 3:30pm

An introduction to Lino printing onto fabric drawing inspiration from our natural neighbours. A great way to add personal touches to clothes or create new pieces from old found fabrics. In this class, you will create blocks that can be used to create patchwork pieces.

Wednesday 22 July, 10:30am — 3:30pm

Collagraph printing works so well on fabric and the plates are such fun to create! This method of printmaking can be done with oat milk cartons, old scraps of wallpaper, and tapes. They work well for backgrounds and colour as well as stand-alone images.

Wednesday 29 July, 10:30am — 3:30pm

Drypoint etching is a simple way to produce prints as you can see through the plate, great for those who worry they can’t draw. Images are created by scratching the surface of the plastic plate. It can be wonderfully delicate on fabric and create great results quickly.