Intaglio printing

You are able to sign up for any days and for as many days as you need, in the summer workshop periods. Each student is able to tailor the teaching to their level , just put each day in your basket, for all the dates you would like.

Etching Basics Course

1 day needed

An introduction to traditional etching, using beeswax grounds, (hard & soft). You will also learn how to ink your plate á la poupée (inking one plate up with many colours simultaneously). The basic techniques of intaglio printmaking, etching into metal with corrosives like acids or ferric chloride.with an etching needle to scratch into the wax or pencils and paper with the soft ground to reveal the metal underneath. Deep bite for more textural ideas.

Intermediate level

2 days needed

All of the above plus registration of 2 plates and Al la Poupee inking, aquatint, spit bite and sugar lift processes.

Collagraph

2 days needed

An introduction to Collagraph. Create bold expressive prints using card , carborundum and glue. This course is to learn the basic techniques of Collagraph (from the French word colle meaning to stick or glue). The surface used for printing on this course will be card cutting into the surface creating shapes or drypoint lines, adding collage and carborundum or sandpaper for texture and density of colour, sealed with shellac or varnish to create a printable surface and strengthen the card. various ways of wiping the plates to get the best out of the collagraph plate.

Dry-point

1-2 days needed

Drypoint is a printing technique drawing directly onto the plate using a hardened steel point (drypoint needle)This course is to learn the basic technique of dry-point. As with etching, this technique also comes under ‘intaglio printmaking’, meaning to print from incised lines,  The depth of the line determines the amount of ink it will hold; a very soft line will print with some subtlety, but a very deep line pressing very hard will give you a rich dark velvety line with a burr. We can extend the course with multi plate drypoint using different colours on each plate and the required registration.

Salt & Copper Sulphate Etching on Aluminium

1 day needed

Etching using salt and copper sulphate, a safer mordant that has proven very successful for etching onto aluminium and zinc, giving both line and tonal values without the use of aquatint. This is the only method for etching aluminium that really works. This course is to learn the basic technique of etching with salt etch.  Preparing The aluminium plates ,  The same wax grounds can be used as for conventional etching: An ink-based ground can also be used but takes a while to dry. An image is drawn into the ground using an etching needle. Submerged into the copper sulphate and salt bath.  will instantly start to etch and lift the surface of the aluminium.