I Had Fun. But Am I Ready to Do It Again?

Author's First Attempt at Lino Cut Printing

Storytime! This past weekend, I took a beginner-level, three-hour lino cut printing workshop.

The instructor was an experienced printmaker who shared some beautiful examples of her work and gave a brief demonstration before we got started. 

Our project? A reduction lino print.

If you know anything about lino printing, you will know that a reduction print is not exactly the simplest place to begin. Of course, when I started the workshop, I did not know this :) 

News flash! I had never seen or used lino blocks, carving tools, or basic printing equipment before. But it was a beginner-level workshop, right? We were asked to draw something simple on paper, transfer it to the lino block, and then carve four different layers that would allow for four different colours to be printed. I was not sure what I was getting into...but I had fun, and I got some multi-colour prints to prove it!

The lino print workshop certainly made for an experience. I discovered how awkward it feels to hold the carving tools, how tough it is to carve tiny details or curvy lines, how easy it is to remove too much material, but how satisfying it is to pull one decent-looking print while attempting to have 10+ options! The workshop created good conditions for exploration, and I became familiar with some things. 

For a beginner's workshop, it had plenty of challenges. Fifteen of us were all trying to create our first print, and one instructor was trying to walk around the room, respond to our questions (if we asked), troubleshoot problems (individually), and keep everyone moving. I loved being challenged. And as a trainer and facilitator, I know and appreciate how struggle is often where learning happens. But as much as I loved the challenge, I was also frustrated in the moments between the struggles. 

When my print did not turn out as expected, I wanted to understand why. Was the pressure wrong? Was there too much or too little ink? Was the roller not coated well or did it have too much ink? Was my carving technique the problem? Was my paper placement incorrect? Did I not use the right tip to carve the lino? I couldn't figure out what all was going wrong! I had too many questions! 

After the workshop, I found myself asking myself, What did I actually learn? And more importantly, could I do it again on my own? What would I intentionally do differently next time?

I can't say that I didn't learn anything! I learned plenty. But it was not the kind of learning that would allow me to independently tackle another lino cut print tomorrow. 

My mistakes taught me that carving lino requires patience, planning, and a very different way of thinking about creating an image. After I saw the prints, I realized I had to think about positive and negative spaces before I even started carving. I also learned the hard way that mistakes are easy to make and impossible to undo once you have carved the lino :)

Soon enough, the instructional designer and trainer in me took over. I left asking myself what if, before I did anything with a lino block, I had received some orientation around some big ideas about lino cutting and printing? Perhaps, even provided with a simpler drawing for beginners? Or instead of starting with a reduction linocut print, what if we started with a basic, single-layer carving print and then moved to multiple layers and multiple colours?

The questions made me think about how sometimes it is easy to confuse an interactive and fun experience with learning, especially for beginners. 

As someone who works in learning and development, I suspect this resonates with a broader issue we have all seen in workplace learning. 

We often celebrate fun and interaction and plan and design for it. At the end of the workshop, we ask whether participants enjoyed it, whether they were involved, and whether they stayed interested. Yes, fun counts. However…

Having an interactive and fun experience is not the same as learning in a way that transfers to future performance. 

At the end of the workshop, I was left thinking about what knowledge, skills, or insights I will carry into my next attempt. What principles have I extracted from the experience that I can apply? I know that my questions were getting at learning transfer, not just participation. 

Because...

Learning isn't simply about what happened during an activity; it's what happens after it, or rather what changes because of it.