Over 20 young participants turned storybook designs and personal artwork into handmade relief prints at a creative festival workshop
SHARJAH, UAE — More than 20 children explored the fundamentals of relief printing at the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2026), turning their imaginations into vibrant handmade prints and personalized stamps during an interactive workshop.
The hands-on session introduced participants to traditional relief printing, a process where designs are carved directly into a surface before being coated in ink and transferred onto paper. Working with gloves, tracing sheets, rubber slabs, carving tools, ink rollers, and card paper, the young artists learned each stage of the craft under the guidance of workshop facilitators.
Participants chose from diverse visual motifs inspired by animals, nature, literature, and popular culture, including the Spider-Man emblem and the sun symbol from Disney’s Tangled. Guided by session lead Ann, the children traced their chosen illustrations onto rubber blocks and carved them out to form functional printing stamps.
The creative exercise allowed participants to tailor the prints to their own interests. Eleena, one of the attendees, produced a series of pink seashells, citing pink as her favorite color. Another participant, Asiya, created a high-speed space vessel set against a blue background, noting, “I’m making a rocket ship that is super fast in space!” Talia carved a black cat set within a garden, explaining that she enjoyed the session because she likes inventing things.
Ann highlighted that the printmaking workshop forms part of a broader lineup of creative, interactive learning sessions at SIBF 2026 intended to enrich children’s educational and cultural experiences. By the conclusion of the workshop, each child took home custom stamps and personalized artwork, gaining hands-on familiarity with creative materials and visual design.
