Over the next few weeks we will be sharing blog posts written by 20/21 Workshop Bursary recipients. Today, Shannon Leslie shares her creative process and thoughts about her time in the Gaada workshop.

“I brought some of my personal sketchbooks to the workshop. Strewn about the table were loose sheets, small drawings and monoprints. It was only from utilising their large table space where I placed each piece and began rearranging them, I was able to put them together in a cohesive manner and figure out where I would like to go.

What was first a small book-making experiment consisting of a few pages, then evolved into something far richer. My zine focuses on intimate monoprint entries from my personal dream journal. It is something I keep to help my understanding of the unconscious mind, but also to keep track of my own mental health.

With the help of Gaada I was taught how to use computer software to edit and rearrange my works into book format. We adjusted and cropped various paper sizes to create an interactive picture-book experience. Pages can be turned to uncover the horrors of the mind. Some are sad whilst others are simply unsettling. Ultimately this zine has changed the way I look at my own practice and has offered valuable insight for my printmaking passion. By making this book it has helped to focus my monoprints and transformed them into a small body of work which tells a story with integrity.

My initial goal was to make woodcut prints and see where it took me. Instead, I fully engaged with the risograph printer, met new likeminded people and experimented out of my comfort zone. I feel I achieved what I set out to do and much more, and that couldn’t have been without Gaada’s professional, safe and welcoming learning environment.

This workshop has been a highlight of my creative journey, and I highly recommend applying for this experience if you are interested in honing your existing print making abilities or willing to learn new skills. My best advice is to go in with an open mind. Who knows where it could take you?”