Artist lines up monthly lino meets

A REGULAR workshop aimed at bringing people together through learning the craft of printmaking is being revived by a Lethbridge-based artist.

Called Lino Club, the meetings previously ran for two years after being established in 2017 through visual artist Samantha Thompson’s The BOP Arts Co Op nonprofit.

Having revived the workshop under her own name earlier this month at the Lethbridge Community Hall, Thompson said she’s keen to see the group grow once more.

“We had eight people turn up which was great and it showed the interest is there to keep it going,” she said. “Every person who showed up had never done lino printing before.

“We’d have up to between 15 and 20 people before, and there’d be people turning up who were then happy to share their skills and help people through their process.

“It was nice to see it evolve and that’s the plan for that to happen again.”

Set to run from 12pm to 3pm on the first Saturday of every month, Thompson plans to hold subsequent Lino Club meetups at varying locations.

Each session will cost $30 per attendee to cover materials and the hall’s hire.

The BOP, which included artists in Golden Plains Shire and surrounding regions, has been dormant alongside Lino Club, with the workshop set to be run under it once more following the group’s planned revival early next year.

Thompson said she most enjoys seeing the community engaging with art and each other.

“It’s that spark in people,” she said. “I’ve had so many people come in and they just get to push everything aside and give themselves permission and freedom to be creative.

“I don’t run classes. It’s just turn up with a picture or an idea or without, and individually I sit down and have a chat with people and work through things with them. It’s very individually tailored.

“We always end up laughing along together. There’s no pressure. It gives people the excuse to be creative.”

The next Lino Club workshop will run on Saturday 4 November with bookings available at Thompson’s website.