As part of the launch of the Strathblane Heritage Trail in May, children in the primary school have created their own printed artworks.
The project included all eight classes in the school working with Blanefield resident Jane Parfitt on a range of printmaking techniques. Some of the work from the project was on display at the launch party for the Heritage Trail in the Village Club on 17th May 2026, and was then part of a temporary display at the Thomas Graham Community Library in Strathblane.
For the older children, each afternoon began with a short discussion about the former printworks at Blanefield and the production of printed cloth there in the 19th Century. Today's pupils were asked to imagine how life would have been for children as young as 6 years old who worked long hours for very little pay as tearers at the printworks. Their job was to ladle the dye onto pads for the block printers to dip their wooden blocks into.
Class teachers chose an age appropriate printing technique for their classes to try out, some linked to their class topics for the term. Every child worked carefully and thoughtfully and produced a print to be proud of. There are some examples of the type of prints each class made below.
P1 and P1/2 made monoprints. They rolled printing ink on to a printing plate and draw their designs with a cotton bud.
P2, P3 and P4 used small everyday objects dipped in paint to print patterns.
P5, P6 and P7 carved a design on a polystyrene tile. Printing ink was rolled onto the tile to create striking prints.
P7 spent a second afternoon creating a reduction print adding a second colour to their designs
Strathblane Heritage provided the materials for this project. Huge thanks are due to Jane Parfitt, who created and delivered the project. Thanks too to local artist Amy Ricketts who lent aprons and the essential brayers for rolling out the ink and worked alongside Jane with some of the classes.