NYC Printmaking Studio: Learn Linocut With Robert Blackburn

Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop offers November linocut classes to non-members for $365, including materials and 12 hours of independent studio time. This Midtown printmaking studio is at 323 West 39th Street, New York, NY 10018. Michele Godwin teaches the four Tuesday sessions on November 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2026, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. The class provides a public entry point into a cooperative workshop whose history reaches back to Robert Blackburn's original 1947 shop.

The official course listing prices the same linocut class at $315 for members and $365 for non-members, excluding the online processing fee. The materials and studio-time inclusion are more useful than comparing the headline fee alone. Four taught sessions introduce a process, while the included independent hours create space to practise. Plan the follow-up work when booking: those free studio hours expire one month after the last class, rather than remaining available indefinitely.

If a four-week commitment is too much, the November RISO workshop provides another published format. John Andrews teaches it on November 7 and 8 from 11am to 2pm, with a non-member fee of $290 and materials included. Six hours of studio time follow the two-day course. RISO and linocut are different processes, so choose by what you want to learn, not merely by the smaller number of dates on the calendar.

The workshop's history page traces Robert Blackburn's early artistic development to Harlem community art centers. It says that after studying at the Art Students League, he opened the original Printmaking Workshop in late winter 1947, centering collaboration, experimentation, and a welcoming environment. That founding story is relevant to a present-day class: the institution treats access to printmaking as part of its purpose, rather than an extra attached to a commercial edition-printing business.

Blackburn also served as the first master printer at Universal Limited Art Editions, where the history page credits him with printing its first 79 editions. The artists listed include Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Robert Motherwell. This connection makes the workshop's educational role easier to understand. Professional print production and community learning belong to the same biography, and the shop continues to present them together rather than treating one as the lesser activity.

The current program reopened in 2005 under the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts after Blackburn closed the earlier workshop during a period of ill health. The site describes the present operation as a cooperative workspace serving printmakers of every skill level. It also says the archive contains more than 10,000 prints by over 1,300 artists from over 60 countries. Archive viewing is arranged by appointment, so it should be planned separately from a class.

The workshop identifies itself as Manhattan's only community printshop with stone lithography. That makes the technique a meaningful reason to choose this institution, but it is not a promise of an unscheduled beginner demonstration. The listed stone-lithography class with Devraj Dakoji runs on March 13, 14, 20, and 21, 2027. A visitor seeking a lesson this autumn should distinguish that future course from the November offerings instead of assuming every technique is taught every weekend.

The stone course's long schedule illustrates how different printmaking processes demand different commitments. A two-day RISO introduction, four evenings of linocut, and a longer lithography course cannot be judged as interchangeable craft outings. Decide whether you want an introductory result, repeat practice across several weeks, or sustained instruction in a particular medium. The studio's calendar is unusually useful because it names the teacher, dates, materials inclusion, and practice time alongside each option.

The website explicitly offers non-member class prices. You can therefore start with a course without presenting membership as a prerequisite. Membership carries class discounts and a route into the cooperative community, but that is a different decision from booking one introduction. The published November dates and the dual price structure provide evidence of a public teaching program. They are stronger grounds for planning a visit than a generic directory description of an artists' workspace.

The general class policy says materials are included unless a listing says otherwise, and that complimentary studio hours expire one month after the final class. That rule makes the week after a course valuable: you can repeat a process while the demonstration is still fresh. Bring a notebook to record the instructor's setup and cleanup sequence. This is a practical suggestion for using the included time effectively, rather than a claim that every learner follows the same project.

The classes page states that a registration must be cancelled two weeks before the start to receive a 90 percent refund. It also says no full refund is issued after payment because of online processing fees. Read that alongside the actual dates before choosing a multi-session course. A calendar conflict on the second or third Tuesday matters just as much as enthusiasm for the first evening, especially when the course spans most of a month.

For a class that no longer fits, use the published cancellation policy instead of assuming the fee functions like a refundable restaurant reservation. A practical backup is to choose a later listed course in the same workshop, or to attend one of its public events if that program suits your interest. Do not arrive expecting to take an absent student's place. Registration is the straightforward way into instruction, and the website separates classes from press bookings and safety tours.

As general studio preparation, choose clothes that tolerate ink, wear stable shoes, and carry a compact bag. Give an instructor or artist room to finish a press operation before asking a question. Label your own test sheets and take notes about the changes between pulls. These are recommendations for behaving considerately around shared equipment; the workshop's course and safety instructions take priority over any general preparation list.

The official site also has a safety-tour route and a press-booking option. Those are useful distinctions for returning printmakers. A novice needs instruction before treating a professional press as independently usable, while an experienced artist may be choosing access rather than a first lesson. Ask questions that match your level and your booking. That keeps a class focused, respects working artists' time, and avoids confusing a public educational session with unrestricted access to every machine.

West 39th Street sits within walking distance of Penn Station, Port Authority, and the Times Square subway complex. Use the workshop as the main appointment, then walk west toward the Hudson River or south through the Garment District. Carrying a folder is sensible if your course produces paper work, and a short walk is easier to manage than a second timed attraction. Leave any additional venue visits optional rather than making the day depend on another queue.

The site lists Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 7pm, as general hours; individual class times can extend beyond that schedule. Save the full class name and all dates with the address in the Karpo APP. Use the November linocut or RISO listing for an autumn course, and treat the March lithography listing as a separate, future commitment.