THERE is a jewel of an exhibition currently on at the Ulster Museum: Kelpra Artists and Printmakers' 'Concepts - Conversations - Collaborations'.

This flourishing artistic business was started by husband and wife team Rose Kelly and Chris Prater. Chris learned his trade on a government training scheme decades ago. Technological advances in the digital sphere have now put artists together with new processes and – hey, presto! – a new art form emerges. 

The magical processes and the years of building skills to develop different printmaking skills are still alive in Belfast and nurtured  at the Belfast Print Workshop. As a past member and previous chair of the organisation, it was humbling to start the journey of learning one of the processes while in an increasingly digital world championing the analogue complexity of the art form. The magic of Kelpra is that with highly skilled printmakers they collaborate alongside the artists, thus sharing their experience and ensuring the results honour the artists' vision and harness the skills of the master printmaker.

The results are brilliant – from Eduardo Paolozzi's screenprints, which boggle the mind, to  artist John Piper's multi-plate etching by which an individual sheet of metal is used to etch parts of the image which are then printed on top of each other to give the final complete image. The exhibition features three of these plates forming one image and it is fascinating to see. Brigit Riley's op art is transformed into print as is that of Elizabeth Frink – more known for her sculptures.

Many of the artists on show worked in multiple art forms. Having found their artistic mojo they simple applied it in different fields. This is the joy of creative expression –  always seeking out new horizons to conquer. 

Kelpra: Artists and Printmakers' 'Concepts - Conversations - Collaborations' is on at the Ulster  Museum until September.

On another note, Belfast has a new(ish) art club. It has been going for a year on the first floor of the Errigle Inn on a Wednesday evening and it aspires to be a welcoming social space for creatives in the city. Having a creative calling is very specific and it can be isolating – the group simply want to put in place a creative hive of support for each other.

It's free and while attending just before Christmas I found it a welcoming space. You get a name badge on arrival and are welcomed by members, both new and those who have been attending the whole year. Artists attending give talks, share exhibition ideas, collaborate and, well, whatever else happens when artists get together. So why not step out and connect with them this year?

The first meeting of the year is on the first floor of the Errigle Inn on Wednesday, January 10.