Upcoming Workshops
Workshop Policy: Participants must arrive on time. Classes begin at 10am, after 10:30am no-shows are considered a cancellation without refund. Late arrivals cause disruption and ask too much of the teacher to re-teach concepts already covered. If you need to cancel your spot in the class, please give two weeks notice. No refunds for less than two weeks notice.
Journal Making with Mary Ann Sampson
Saturday, September 12 from 1pm - 4pm
Workshop description:
Learn how to use gelli plates to create experimental monoprints for a one-of-a-kind small journal. Participants will explore monoprinting techniques using gelli plates and acrylic paint to create colorful, layered prints. You’ll use your prints to make a soft-cover journal, including printing on both the inside and outside covers. The book will be assembled with a simple pamphlet stitch, creating a handmade journal to keep and use. No prior printmaking or bookmaking experience is necessary, come experiment, create, and take home your finished journal!
What to bring:
Acrylic paint
Posca markers
black plastic/styrofoam takeout containers
Beads
Embroidery threads/additional thread/linen book thread
Any objects you think will make interesting impressions (bottle caps, leaves, etc.)
About the instructor:
Mary Ann Sampson is an artist based in Ragland, Alabama. She studied art at Birmingham Southern and Samford University before earning a Masters of Fine Arts in Book Arts from the University of Alabama and is an active member of the Guild of Book Workers. She is the founder of the One-Eye Opera Company, which publishes limited edition letterpress books, custom bookbinding and unique editions. In her artist statement she says, “Handmade books are a personal stage and a memory stick for a life lived...a field for random thoughts and imagination. Flat works and three-dimensional pieces are mostly singular ideas that have fallen off the pages. It’s the plurality of techniques and materials that make them seem different.”
If this is your first workshop, please submit the workshop participant form.
This class is now full! Please email paperworkerslocal@gmail.com if you would like to be placed on the waiting list!
Experimental Collage with Mary Ann Sampson
Saturday, September 19 from 1pm - 4pm
Workshop description:
Explore the possibilities of layering, texture, and found materials in this playful gelli plate collage workshop. Participants will create a collection of experimental monoprints and learn how to transform them into a finished work of art. Bring your own materials to incorporate into the process, such as dried flowers, old photos, drawings, magazine pages, fabric, wallpaper, or pieces of artwork. We’ll focus on cutting, arranging, layering, and combining materials to develop a unique composition with plenty of room for experimentation. You’ll leave with an original collage ready to hang and new ideas for incorporating everyday materials into your art practice. No prior experience necessary!
What to bring:
Acrylic paint
Posca markers
black plastic/styrofoam takeout containers
Anything to experiment with, such as: dried flowers, old photos, sketchbook drawings, magazines, wallpaper, old books, fabric, old prints/artwork from previous (if applicable), rubber stamps
Canvas or canvas board (max 12”x12”)
About the instructor:
Mary Ann Sampson is an artist based in Ragland, Alabama. She studied art at Birmingham Southern and Samford University before earning a Masters of Fine Arts in Book Arts from the University of Alabama and is an active member of the Guild of Book Workers. She is the founder of the One-Eye Opera Company, which publishes limited edition letterpress books, custom bookbinding and unique editions. In her artist statement she says, “Handmade books are a personal stage and a memory stick for a life lived...a field for random thoughts and imagination. Flat works and three-dimensional pieces are mostly singular ideas that have fallen off the pages. It’s the plurality of techniques and materials that make them seem different.”
If this is your first workshop, please submit the workshop participant form.
Printing of Fabric and Silk: A Botanical Monoprint Workshop with Celeste Pfau
Sunday, September 20 from 10am - 5pm (optional open studio until 6:30pm)
Price: $140 (Includes guidance, 1–2 silk scarves, archival paper, inks, and refreshments). A $ 25 discount is available to PWL Members ($115 total).
Workshop description:
Fine artist, printmaker, and educator Celeste Amparo Pfau announces an intensive, one-day Botanical Monoprint Workshop on fabric taking place on Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM at Amparo Creative House. This immersive session offers technical instruction in botanical printmaking at her personal studio in the Roebuck Springs neighborhood of Birmingham. Please note the studio is located on the second floor and currently does not have elevator access. Following the guided workshop, participants are invited to an optional open studio session from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM to continue working freely on the etching press.
Designed for beginners and experienced artists alike, the workshop immerses participants in the art of botanical printmaking using a manually operated etching press and tabletop Gelli plates. Students will work directly with ethically gathered plant material, fluid oil based and water-based inks, archival paper, and natural silk textiles to create wearable art and gallery-quality prints.
The workshop commences with live studio demonstrations showcasing the application of oil-based and specialized inks for botanical monoprinting process. Participants will receive guided, group and one-on-one technical instruction on:
The mechanics and safe operation of a professional etching press.
Step-by-step composition, color layering, and ghost printing methods.
Direct transfer techniques using organic botanical specimens, stencils, and found textures.
Substrate exploration across delicate silk habotai fabrics and various printmaking papers.
Each participant will complete the day with 1 to 2 finished silk scarves, several paper botanical prints, and dedicated studio time extending to 6:30 PM for continued printing. Light refreshments and drinks will be provided by the host studio. Celeste requests participants help with the cleanup process at the end of the workshop.
What to bring:
Clothes you don’t mind getting ink on
participants are encouraged to bring their own dry or fresh botanical clippings
a packed lunch for the break at 12:00-12:30
All printmaking supplies (silk scarves, archival paper, inks, botanical specimens) and light refreshments/drinks will be provided.
About the Instructor:
Celeste Amparo Pfauis a professional fine artist, printmaker, and educator based in Birmingham, Alabama, where she established her studio Amparo Creative House. Her multidisciplinary work explores the delicate ecological relationship between humanity and the natural environment, with a particular focus on sustainable practices and the diverse flora of the Alabama region. Through botanical monoprinting, sculpture, installation, and film, Pfau employs ethically sourced plant material and natural pigments to forge visual connections between regional communities and their local landscapes. Currently serving as a faculty member at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and recognized as an Alabama Triennial artist at AEIVA in 2025, she maintains an active studio practice alongside her public art projects and immersive community workshops.
https://www.amparocreativehouse.com/| MONOGRAPH, Making Environmental Art Meet the Artist Celeste Amparo Pfau |Composition of Decomposition
Venue:
Amparo Creative House,609 Ridge Top Circle, Birmingham, AL 35206. Note: The studio is located on the second floor; currently, no elevator access is available.
This workshop will NOT take place at PaperWorkers Local!
Registration Process:
Due to the hands-on nature of the session, registration is capped at 8 participants. Accepted payment methods include cash, or check, which will be paid at the start of the class, or Venmo. Please fill out the form below to register.
Gyotaku (Fish Printing) with Jim Brown
Saturday, October 10 from 1pm - 4pm
Workshop description:
Some introductory remarks on Japanese wood block printing (ukiyo-e, “the floating world”) in which gyotaku has its roots, and then a little something on the various kinds (direct vs indirect) of gyotaku, and where it is practiced. But most of the 3-hour class will be a hands-on tutorial in making actual black (sumi) ink fish prints — from preparing the (recently deceased) fish for printing, to practicing with cheap newsprint, and concluding with working with the more expensive Rives lightweight cotton paper, and some momi papers as well. Enrollees are encouraged to bring their own favorite printing papers to experiment with, though flexible (hosho, mulberry, etc.) is preferable to stiff paper because to some extent it has to be molded around the 3-D fish body. A final word on colorization of the basic ink print, plus a little experimentation with the same, will conclude the class.
Participants will come away from this class with knowledge of the gyotaku printing process and their black and white fish prints.
What to bring:
You can bring any thin paper you would like to experiment with such as hosho, mulberry, etc. but paper will also be provided
About the instructor:
Jim Brown got his doctorate in European and Asian history at Vanderbilt in 1971. That same year he joined the history dept at Samford and taught there 45 years. In his first two or three years in B’ham, while teaching a volunteer ESL class at a downtown church, his first students were Japanese. Two of them were real outdoorsmen, so he took them hiking and fishing. One took home about a one-pound striped bass and came back a week later with what Brown thought was the world’s most detailed pen & ink drawing. No, said the artist, you paint the fish with Sumi ink and press paper down on it to get the mirror-image print. Brown has done that off and on for 50 years, more-so since retiring 10 years ago, winning awards at such shows as the Bluff Park art show.
If this is your first workshop, please submit the workshop participant form.