A Day of Pattern, Print & Play: Our Winchester Workshop with Berkshire Printmakers

While Winchester greeted us with grey skies and a steady drizzle, inside The Arc the atmosphere was bright, creative and full of energy. Yesterday Specialist Crafts joined 12 art teachers and technicians for an uplifting workshop led by Berkshire Printmakers’ brilliant duo, Sarah Martinez and Cipriano Martínez. What could have been an ordinary damp morning quickly turned into a lively space for making, sharing ideas and reconnecting with the joy of print.

A Pattern-Packed Start:

Before getting inky, our group enjoyed a guided tour of The Arc’s exhibition Beauty of the Earth: The Art of May, Jane & William Morris, which honours not only William Morris, but also his wife Jane Morris and daughter May Morris. The exhibition highlights how the Morris household was a creative hub, where women played a vital role in design, craft and cultural influence.

Surrounded by motifs of honeysuckle, strawberries, willows, apples and roses, the teachers took in the legacy of pattern, nature and female-led craft. This moment of inspiration set the tone, reminding us all why print can be such a powerful medium in art and design education.

Getting Hands-On with Screen Printing:

After our tour, Sarah and Cipriano led the group into the print-studio space for an engaging Introduction & Refresher of basic screen-printing techniques. Over the course of the session, attendees revisited core skills, preparing screens, mixing inks, registering layers, and experimented with their own stencil designs. Teachers who might not use printing regularly rediscovered how tactile, expressive and curriculum-relevant the process can be.

Why This Matters for Educators:

In a climate of tightening budgets and ever-demanding schedules, opportunities like this matter more than ever. For art departments under financial pressures, screen printing offers a high-impact, low-cost way to broaden the creative offer for students. Teachers walked away not only with printed samples but with renewed confidence and fresh ideas to embed in secondary and higher-education settings.

Three take-aways from the day:

• Re-connect with the craft – A refresher workshop like this helps reignite enthusiasm and reminds teachers why they chose art in the first place.
• Use design history as fuel – The Morris family exhibition provided meaningful context: print, pattern and craft traditions enrich contemporary practice.
• Make it student-ready – This wasn’t just about technique: Sarah and Cipriano showed how even basic screen printing can become a dynamic, curriculum-smart activity that fits tight timetables and budgets.

'Just wanted to say a big thank you for the workshop today in Winchester. Jane and the ‘specialist’ team were so welcoming and supportive.

Both Sarah and Cipriano were excellent practitioners and delivered a really interesting printing workshop.

Loved the whole day, including my filmed interview!'

A big thank-you to Sarah, Cipriano and Berkshire Printmakers for their expertise and openness; to The Arc for hosting us and making the Morris family tour possible; and of course to the teachers and technicians who brought energy, thoughtful questions and a ready-to-print mindset.

We’re excited to see how your classrooms come alive with fresh print projects inspired by this day!