YORK Printmakers are holding their their launch exhibition at Blossom Street Gallery, in Blossom Street, York, throughout October.

Established last year, the group for printmakers living in the York area has members who work in a wide variety of methods such as etching, lino, collagraph, monotype, screen print, solar plate, Japanese woodblock and lithography.

Meeting on a monthly basis at the Black Swan Inn, in Peasholme Green, to share work and ideas in an informal way, the members so far have participated in such activities as an Easter to October residency each weekend at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming at Murton and a workshop on inking at Hawthorn Printmaker Supplies. Three more exhibitions are being planned too.

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Cathedral Steps, by Jane Duke

Member Sally Clarke says: "The group was set up after Emily Harvey was contacted a year ago and was asked if there was a printmakers group in York, and the answer was no. So 12 of us started one, formed from whoever turned up at an initial meeting at The Fleeting Arms in Gillygate."

From the outset, they showed their prints and discussed their printing processes over a friendly drink. "Now we've grown to 40 members, with around 20 to 25 attending each meeting at the Black Swan, where we've just booked another 12 months," says Sally.

Fellow member Emma Whitelock says the York Printmakers come from a range of printmaking backgrounds, from art students to professional artists who exhibit widely.

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Dalmatian Cross, by Lesley Sharp

"It's a very relaxed forum for showing and discussing work and we have some really proactive members continually working on new opportunities for the group," she adds. "Our logo, for example, was done as a group project with several of us choosing letters and producing prints of them in our own individual ways."

The Blossom Street Gallery exhibition aims to showcase the group's array of skills, with some members using techniques and printing presses that date back hundreds of years, while others push the boundaries of contemporary practice with laser-cut plates, digital elements and 3D techniques.

"It's an exciting time for printmaking and we want to show people the endless possibilities, as well as some of the plates that our prints derive from," says member Alanah Watson, who uses a laser-cutting technique. "There's so much work that goes into creating a plate before the printing process even begins."

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Beach comber: one of Alan Coates' prints

Joining Emily, Sally, Emma and Alanah in the show are Patricia Ruddle; Jane Duke; Chrissie Dell; Katherine Rathmell; Milena Dragic; Derek Gauld; Ann Decker; Judith Pollock and Michelle Hughes.

Taking part too are Jo Walton, a specialist in rust prints on silk, made at the Rogues Atelier studios in Fossgate; Lesley Shaw; Jade Blood; Stephen Bottrill; Alan Coates; Liz Nast; Veronica Ongaro; Bernadette Wright; Janice Simpson and Shaun Wyatt.

"We're always keen for everyone to bring a print and a plate to pass around at our meetings as we're all curious about how each other creates something, such as Emily Harvey printing on plaster," says Emma, whose digital Chine-collé works utilise digital photography and tissue paper, printing on Japanese paper.

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Flamborough Rocks, by Patricia Ann Ruddle

"Sharing techniques is an important part of what we do, and it's also a group where we can build up contacts," enthuses Ann Decker. To emphasise the sense of sharing, Michelle Hughes has overseen the members creating a unique logo for the exhibition in which each letter in the York Printmakers name uses a different printing technique.

Some printmakers settle on one printing method, others prefer to diversify. "I've never moved away from the collagraph process," says Sally. "As soon as I used it, I thought. 'this is what I want to work in' – and I never use the word 'print' to describe my work; I just use the word 'collagraph'." Veronica Ongaro, by way of contrast, says: "You can do more than one style and you can combine styles too."

The members unite, however, in picking the part of the process they most enjoy. "There's always the joy and the surprise in peeling back the first print," says Emma. "That's the moment every printmaker will know," says Veronica. "What's it going to turn out looking like!"

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Picking Up The Pieces, by Sally Clarke

Should you wish to learn more about printmaking, group members will be at the gallery on each Saturday this month for a chance to Meet the Artist and learn how they make their prints. These sessions will be held from 10am to 1pm and 1pm to 4pm with a different artist at each one. Just turn up and the artists are sure to make an impression.

The York Printmakers' launch show will run at Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until October 31, open Monday to Saturday. More information on the group can be found at yorkprintmakers.org.uk