Anne Desmet: A personal insight into Wood Engraving
2 day course
22 & 23 September 2026
10am to 4pm
£300 including all materials
A unique opportunity to work with renowned Artist & wood engraver Anne Desmet. Anne will guide you through the exhibition of her work, explaining her individual technique and giving personal insights into works on show. The course is suitable for beginners and/or those with some experience. It will cover a range of approaches to fine line and tonal engraving on boxwood and other end-grain woods, as well as inking, printing and hand burnishing (on Japanese and European papers) and printing using relief presses. The course will also include an introduction to the rich potential of creative collage using wood engraved prints.
Course structure
Day 1
• A unique personal viewing of Anne’s exhibition with the artist
• Introduction to equipment and cutting techniques
• Explanation of the technique with examples by leading engravers, historic and contemporary
• Planning an image and cutting the design
• Use of rollers and how to ink up your block
• Printing blocks by hand on Japanese and European papers
Day 2
• Create a new wood engraving using your own drawing or photo to create small-scale black and white printed images
• Learn how to make the best compositional use of your own imagery in engraving terms, factoring in issues such as the scale of your source imagery and the relative scale of a woodblock
• Printing blocks on a relief printing press using Japanese and European papers
• An introduction to Anne’s technique of collaging with wood engravings
Pre course information
For image preparation please bring small sketches and/or photographic images with strong contrasts of light and dark and/or interesting textures/pattern qualities. You will be using wood blocks of varied irregular shapes approx 3 x 6 cm or 8 x 5 cm.
Experience level
Suitable for beginners and those wishing to refresh their skills. This technique suits individuals who enjoy working on a very small scale with a high level of detail.
Maximum 8 places
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For all courses except CPSC Certificate course
Full payment of the course fee is required when booking a place. A reserved place is not secure until full payment has been received.
If for any reason you are unable to attend, we will refund monies paid minus a £20 admin fee, as long as you cancel your place more than 1 month before the course start date.
For CPSC Certificate course
Payment for Term 1 is required when booking a place. A reserved place is not secure until this payment has been received. Payments for Terms 2 & 3 will be due at the end of the previous term. Payments for Terms 2 & 3 will be due before the first day of each term.
If for any reason prior to the commencement of the course you are unable to attend, we will refund monies paid minus a £20.00 admin fee, as long as you cancel your place more than 1 month before the course start date. Once you start the course on Term 1 you have committed to all 3 terms. Course transfers are at the discretion of Curwen Print Study Centre.
There is an option to book your place for £100 deposit. If you choose this option your place is secured. The balance of term 1 will be due 20 working days before the start of the course. If you cancel more than 20 working days before the course start date, we will refund monies paid minus a £20 admin fee. If your place is not cancelled during this timescale, and the balance is not paid then the deposit is non refundable. All other Terms & Conditions remain the same.
Curwen Print Study Centre reserves the right to cancel courses – a full refund will be made in these circumstances.
