CAMBRIDGE - Local artist Sheryl Southwick will offer two printmaking classes this winter at DCA.

The first is a two-session class titled “Monotypes,” and will be held Jan. 12 and 19, from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. For this type of printmaking, think of painting backward on a sheet of plastic, then transferring the image to paper.

It’s always a wonderful surprise to see what you get!

This type of printmaking has been around for hundreds of years. The Italian artist Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64) is often credited as being the first artist to produce monotypes.

Sheryl will demonstrate and teach the basics of several methods of making monotypes. No experience necessary - beginners welcome. Class tuition is $55 for DCA members and $95 for non-members

 A materials fee of $10 for inks, papers and use of tools will be payable at the workshop. Non-members who would like to save on this and future class tuition are invited to join DCA by visiting dorchesterarts.org.

The second class is “Block Printing” and will be offered in two sessions: the first is Feb. 9 and 16, and the second is March 9 and 16. For both, the time is Thursday evenings from 5-7 p.m. Students will carve a linoleum block and make relief prints.

Linoleum printing was initially used in the manufacturing of wallpaper. Although major artists began adopting the linocut technique as early as 1903, many in the art community shunned the medium due to its simplicity, believing it lacking in challenge.

Thanks to the linocuts of such popular artists as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, linoleum printing ultimately became an established art form. Sheryl will demonstrate and teach the basics of linoblock printing, which enables you to make many prints from one block.

Tuition is $55 for DCA members and $95 for non-members. A $15 materials fee will be payable at the beginning of class.

Southwick is originally from Baton Rouge, where she earned a BFA in painting from LSU. She participates in various artists’ workshops in the region.

She is a teaching artist for several venues on the Shore. Paintings, collages, prints and mixed media pieces are her concentrations now. Find her at sherylsouthwick.com/portfolio.

For details and registration for these classes and additional activities at the Dorchester Center for the Arts, visit online at dorchesterarts.org. DCA is dedicated to enriching Maryland’s Eastern Shore community through high quality, engaging programming in the visual, literary and performing arts. Programs at DCA are supported by the Maryland State Arts Council. Find DCA on Facebook.