A Scroll Down Memory Lane

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge of the subject is required.

Special Information

Materials and equipment provided for students as part of the course fee:

• Papers and cards

• Inks

• Glues and tapes

• Access to printmaking tools, equipment and materials

Essential materials and equipment students must provide themselves:

• An object / artefact of personal and or historical significance (either actual or documentation of)

• A sketchbook

• Range of pencils and pens

• A digital camera

• A Pinterest account

Content of Course

The aim of this workshop is to offer an accessible experience for participants to experiment and play with traditional printmaking techniques as the means to connect, explore and celebrate our places in history, our personal stories, fictions and associations. 

This hands-on, collaborative project combines considered and intuitive responses to the production of a joint artwork and encourages interdisciplinary practice by incorporating research, creative practices and the recording of history.

Taking H. G. Wells’ Outline of History (1920) as a point of departure, this one day experiential workshop will connect and document snapshots of participants’ own histories.  Through memories, stories and association with objects and artefacts, the aim is to create a giant artwork which considers how the passage of time distorts our knowledge and perspective on our own histories.

Participants will collaborate from the outset by placing their brought objects (or a photograph of their object) onto a giant table top scroll of paper acting as a timeline. The workshop space will become an operations room in the style of a detective drama where objects will dated, ‘bagged’ and recorded through words and images to create a ‘wall of evidence’, aiding the plotting of the scroll.

A series of introductory ‘pocket’ talks by University tutors will demonstrate ways to make simple artists’ prints and provide insight as to how we can connect our lives and shared experiences with history, stories and creative research.

Over the day, participants will be encouraged to invest associations, facts, myths, rumours and invented stories to their objects and contrive interrelationships with others from the group to create a unique historical record.

The final scroll with be documented and made available where possible in digital format to all participants on completion. 

Teaching method(s)

Students enrolled on this course will be given a short pre-course project to select, research and gather personal artefacts.

The course will be team taught and the day will be split into hands-on practical exercises, short introductory talks and debate leading to the completion of a collaborative scroll. This course will be based and delivered in specialist art and design studios all tools, equipment, papers and materials will be available. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Exhibit a basic knowledge of simple printmaking techniques and methods of production.

• Make connections with visual art, philosophy and historic research.

• Consider way that visual evidence and artefacts impact recorded history and change over time.

• Reflect on the production of a collaborative art work.

Sources

Web Sources

Will be provided within class handouts.

Class Handouts

Handouts will be made available.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.