This advanced masterclass is designed for you if you already have experience of hand-printed wallpaper design and want to deepen your technical, historical and creative understanding of the discipline. Guided by wallpaper designer and printmaker Justyna Medon, you will combine advanced studio practice with direct study of historic wallpapers from West Dean’s significant archive collection.

Your tutor will introduce you to the design, construction and installation methods used in historic wallpapers, showing how these approaches can inform and enrich contemporary practice.

During the course, you will:

• Study a curated selection of historic wallpapers from the West Dean archives
• Explore wallpapers associated with Leonor Fini, Rex Whistler and Monk’s House
• Analyse motifs, colour palettes, materials and pattern structures
• Record observations through drawing, note-taking and visual research
• Develop refined motifs informed by archival sources
• Create complex repeat patterns and layered colourways
• Practise precision registration techniques
• Work with multi-screen printing processes
• Experiment with advanced hand-printing and surface treatments

As the course progresses, your tutor will guide you from archival research and close observation towards advanced design development and print production.

You will be encouraged to interpret historic references through your own creative direction, creating work that is both technically accomplished and conceptually grounded.

This is an advanced-level course for learners with existing experience of wallpaper design, screenprinting or related surface design practices.

By working closely with your tutor and engaging directly with original archive material, you will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between heritage craft, contemporary surface design and research-led making. You will leave with greater technical confidence, expanded design skills and a body of developed wallpaper samples.

By the end of the course, you will have produced a series of advanced wallpaper samples, a fully realised multi-layered printed panel, and a research-led sketchbook informed by archival study and technical experimentation.

Included

On this course the College will supply most materials required for the specific project set by the tutor or shared by the group including:

• Lino cutting tools – to use during the course
• Lino blocks
• Lining paper
• Paints
• Textile pigments
• Screens – to use on the course

What students need to bring

• Apron
• Pencil
• Ruler
• A selection of black pens, fineliners (Micron, Posca)
• A set of fine brushes
• A selection of three colours of acrylic paint (in reference to your colour palette)

Please prepare a mood board (or selection of photo references) to be used as design and colour palette inspiration.

Additional information

Please wear appropriate clothing/aprons for the workshop or studio, this includes stout covered footwear (no sandals or open toes).

Arrival day - first date of course
Residential students can arrive from 4pm, non-residential students to arrive by 6.45pm for registration  
Student welcome, followed by dinner: 6.45pm (dinner included)
Teaching session: 8pm-9pm (attendance is essential)

Daily timetable
Course teaching: 9.15am-5pm  
Morning session: 9.15am-12.45pm including coffee/tea break  
Lunch break: 12.45pm-2pm (lunch included)  
Afternoon session: 2pm-5pm including coffee/tea break  
Teaching finishes: 5pm    
Evening working: students may have access to workshops until 9pm, but only with permission from the tutor and provided any health and safety guidelines are observed.

Departure day - last date of course
Course teaching: 9.15am-3pm (lunch included)  
Teaching finishes: 3pm  

Residential students will need to check out of rooms by 10am.
Please note, the tutor may make slight variations to the daily timetable as required.

Terms & Conditions