By Nick Thorogood and Caroline Pearl
March is a wonderful and positive time of the year with 20th March being the official first day of spring and the clocks going forwards on the 26th bringing lighter evenings and the promise of brighter and warmer days ahead. It is also the month when we can celebrate our wonderful mums with Mothering Sunday on 19th March.
My mum and I both love to try new crafts and time that we spend together being creative is very precious. If you’d like to try a fun and creative activity with your mum how about trying gel printing which is a wonderful way of pulling a print without the traditional use of a printing press. You can buy a gel plate from your local craft shop or online and then print using paints or ink onto paper or fabric. The possibilities for being creative are endless as you can use stencils, Indian wood blocks, leaves, bubble wrap and string to make your own unique design. You could then use your prints to cover notebooks or make purses or bags.
Sue Cooper is a local textile teacher and a member of Cranleigh Art & Crafts Society. She enjoys printing onto fabric and paper and then developing it with machine embroidery and embellishing with organza and glitter fabric. She says gel printing is never dull and is very addictive. It is great for using up scraps of both fabric and paper which otherwise would end up in the bin and turning them into a colourful and exciting piece of art.
If you are interested in learning more about gel printing then please contact Sue at or 07415 798023. She offers local talks, demonstrations, individual and group tuition and classes on many textile and sewing skills, including gel printing, free machine embroidery and fabric printing.
Cranleigh Art & Crafts Society are running two events in March. The first is a talk and demonstration on theatrical figures by Ronnie Ireland on Saturday 11 March from 2.30pm – 4.30pm. The second is a paper sculpture workshop by local paper mache sculpter and painter Louise Grundy. In the workshop we will be making either a figurine or dog. Both the talk and workshop are being held at the Band Room, Village Way, Cranleigh. The talk is free for members of the Society and guests are very welcome for a charge of £5.
If you are interested in joining the Society, or would like to book a place on Louise Grundy’s workshop, please visit www.caacs.co.uk or use our QR code.
