Workshops

Note Date Change!  Starting on March 14th and ending on May 30th

Wednesday Evenings 6-9 PM.  March 14- May 30, 2012

This workshop series will be an in-depth exploration of monotype printmaking with water-based inks.  Each week will begin with instruction in a particular aspect of monotype and will include time to explore and print.  You can choose to register for the whole series, or a single month.  Discover a new approach to monotype printmaking each session, and a different emphasis for each month. The series includes 8 hours per month of studio access outside of class time.

March will be an exploration of tone. Demonstrations of subtractive monotype, drawing into a dark field, layering multiple plates and use of stencils will be the foundation of seeing tonality more clearly.

April expands the monotype vocabulary with exercises for four weeks of color play. Become fluent by studying the masters, learning how to layer colors for clarity, and to mixing compliments for natural harmony.  

May begins with transfer drawing off the press. This very simple method of transferring ink through the touch of a tool to the surface of the paper is full of expressive possibilities. Subtle and immediate; mark-making is the pleasure of this printing technique. Students will learn how to make an at-home registration system that allows for using multiplecolor plates. This month's workshops will continuing with guided drawing, on and off the press, creating positive and negative lines,and drawing into a field of color. 

This workshop series is for beginning through advanced students.  Priority registration will be given to full series subscribers. 

Only 2 spaces left!

Learn the basics of water-based screen printing with some simple techniques.  Screen printing is a stencil process, and we will start by creating stencils on an open screen with waxed paper.  We will also use drawing fluid and screen filler to create painterly fixed imagery to incorporate into our prints.  Students will work intuitively to create single prints or small editions.  We will also learn how to modify these processes to experiment with printing on fabrics.

Only 2 spaces left!

Have you ever felt inspired by the work of Paul Klee? Does the soft suggestion of ground and form combined with narrative or abstract line drawings speak to you? Learn the techniques that he used,  and bring them into your studio - no presses required. Through demonstrations and practice throughout the  day, become fluent in simple paper registration, multiple plates for color play, and transfer drawing. The line quality

that reminds us of Paul Klee is achieved by touching ink from a plate to paper with various mark making tools.  We will experiment with ink viscosity and a variety of printing papers that enhance the particular character of line transfer. 

Only 1 space left!

We will spend the day exploring drawing on copper plates using two different etching techniques. The BIG ground works beautifully as both a hard ground to produce very fine and nuanced line, and as a soft ground to produce fuzzier pencil or charcoal - like marks and textural effects. This workshop is a great introduction to the BIG for new etchers as well as a good refresher for more experienced printmakers.

It’s like Jazz, but with sharp tools, wood, paper and ink!

This most ancient of printmaking techniques honors the hand, the mark, and the constructive destruction of wood transformed by carving, scratching and abrading. Each block is a layer of information that can be combined with stencils and masks to yield unique, contemporary results. Students will make a set of plates that can be used alone or in conjunction with one another. We use Shina plywood, a wonderful material that is easy to cut and keeps fine detail. Tool maintenance and sharpening, ink modification, transfer techniques, and printing techniques will be addressed. This is a unique way to work with woodblock that can have the immediacy of collage, yet with the possibility of multiples and work within a series for which printmaking is ideal.

For people who have been frightened of carving, or who have had bad past experiences with splintering wood and dull clunky tools, this workshop will add much to your printmaking repertoire!  No experience necessary.

Tuesday evenings, 6-9 PM, April 3 - June 19, 2012

This workshop series will provide an in-depth look at less-toxic and non-toxic approaches to traditional and newer, experimental intaglio printmaking techniques. Discover a new approach or technique every week, and freshen up on your intaglio skills. Each month series has a specific focus and each weekly session will begin with instruction in a particular approach or technique followed by time to develop individual project alongside instructor support.  The series includes 8 hours of studio time per month outside of class.

Month 1 (LINE) April 3, 10, 17, 24
Month 1 will be an exploration of line. Demonstrations of drypoint and hard ground and soft ground using the Baldwin’s Ink Ground (BIG) will set the foundation for exploring various ways to approach line in acid and non-acid intaglio techniques whether creating a simple image from one matrix or laying the groundwork for more elaborate etchings.

Month 2 (TONE) May 1, 8, 15, 22
Month 2 introduces tone by expanding the intaglio vocabulary through demonstrations in more advanced techniques such as aquatint, spit bite aquatint and coffee lift ground. Various approaches to timed etches, step-etching, washes and open biting will be demonstrated to create rich textures and tonal range in your imagery.

Month 3 (ADVANCED PRINTING PRACTICES) May 29, June 5, 12, 19
Month 3 covers more advanced printing practices and techniques such as chine colle, printing on delicate papers, color mixing, advanced wiping skills and multiple plate printing so that you may hone your skills as a printer to achieve magnificent results.

You can register for month 1, 2, or 3, or the entire series. The series includes 8 hours per month of studio access outside of class time.

Whatever imagery you choose to work with, in this workshop you'll learn to develop ideas into a series of prints. Working with drypoint on plastic and the fluid abstraction of monotype printmaking, workshop participants will explore the evolution of an idea through multiple prints. Technical basics will be covered but the emphasis will be on the way elements of art can be used to put forward imagery with emotive power. Individual discussions with the instructor, demonstrations and enough work time to come away after the weekend with editing skills and direction for future work.

Only 1 space left!

Join the High Priestess of Mezzotint, Carol Wax for an amazing weekend.  Mezzotint is a direct, non-toxic method for engraving luminous prints with rich tones and dramatic lighting effects.  It’s the drypoint equivalent of drawing by blackening a white sheet of paper with charcoal and erasing the image areas.  In mezzotint, a “rocker” tool churns a copper plate into a black background on which images are drawn with scrapers, burnishers, and various polishing materials.  No acids or solvents are used!  The medium yields a broad range of gradations and textures, and accommodates all artistic styles. 

 In this two-day workshop participants will learn the most efficient way to prepare a mezzotint ground, proper care and handling of tools, image-making and printing techniques. Demonstrations of alternative grounding methods (no rocking), use of mezzotint with other intaglio techniques, color printing techniques and cool tricks make this workshop useful for artists working in other mediums. 

 Mezzotint rockers are supplied.  Prior printmaking experience is helpful, but not necessary.

This no-etch technique is a fast and easy way to create a tonal image. Participants will learn how to apply a ground on copper using carborundum grits, then scrape and burnish the plate like a mezzotint to achieve a range of rich tones. The ground is quick to apply and easy to alter with steel wool, sandpaper, scraper or burnisher. This method is an exciting alternative to aquatint and is especially effective when partnered with a linear technique such as drypoint. We will explore the use of masks applied before and after grounding the plate to expand the range of possibilities. All levels of experience are welcome.

This workshop is an introduction to working with Toyobo Printight plates, a photopolymer plate that is sensitive to photo-based imagery as well as direct drawing. In fact, the process is so versatile that it can accommodate nearly any type of imagery or visual approach you’re interested in bringing to it. The plates can yield prints with rich, luscious blacks, delicate tones, or lines that sensitively translate the texture of the drawing tool. Through the use of colored inks, multi-plate printing, and chine colle, the plates can also yield beautiful color prints.

The workshop is open to beginners as well as experienced printmakers. It can also be taken as a re-fresher course for those familiar with the process. 

If you have ever wanted to try lithography, or wanted to work in lithography again but haven’t access to stones, this workshop is perfect. It is appropriate for beginners as well as more advanced printmakers. We will be creating prints using the principles of lithography from images directly drawn or photocopied onto paper. Because the printing plates are simply pieces of recycled paper, this medium can be liberating for the artist who might be intimidated by using stones or metal plates and the chemicals involved. Uniquely, the paper “plates” made by this process can be easily cut into shapes, layered, or collaged and used in combination with other techniques, like monotype.

During this two-day workshop we will concentrate on learning the techniques during the first day, and explore the possibilities the next. There will be time to develop a small body or series of prints.

Wednesday evenings from 6-9 PM, June 6-27, 2012.  This class includes 8 hours of studio time outside of class.

Traditional Japanese woodblock printing is an elegant, green and low-tech process that works beautifully for artists in home studios without a press. This workshop will introduce the method over a 4-week period with work at home required in between classes. Participants will learn how to transfer images to woodblocks, carve with Japanese tools, cut kento registration marks, and print by hand with a baren. All levels are welcome. 

Woodcut blocks provide an interesting surface and a versatile tool for monoprinting, particularly for learning to use Akua Inks. Using your woodcut blocks, either already cut, or newly cut for this workshop, we will push the limits of what can be done with Akua Inks. Examples of prints and demonstrations of image transfers, cutting, tool sharpening, registration, hand and press printing, paper handling, off-setting, viscosity rolling, interference printing, and chine colle serve as a menu of choices to expand your vocabulary for woodcut monoprint moves. My teaching style is very individualized, and my goal is to find the synergy between technique and each artist’s work.

This two-day workshop will focus on taking your introduction to photopolymer intaglio to the next level. We’ll work on refining your process to improve your resulting images; we’ll expand your approach to the Toyobo Printight Photopolymer Intaglio plates by integrating drawing tools and surface manipulation; and we’ll be layering plates by adding other photo-based and/or monotype processes. Whether you just learned how to process photopolymer plates and are eager to know more, or had your introduction several years ago and didn’t know where to go from there, this workshop is for you. Emphasis will be placed on individual attention. If you have not been introduced to photopolymer intaglio technique, but are interested in participating in this workshop, consider the beginner's workshop first or an Individualized Teaching session with Nancy to prepare you.

July 5-9, 2012, 10-5 each day

This workshop will cover the traditional method of creating a color intaglio print using multiple plates.  We’ll begin with a “key” plate, and make new plates for each color, working with line (hardground and softground) and tone (aquatints). Participants will learn about offsetting the image to create color plates, registration techniques, inking variations and printing multiple plates.  As an added bonus, we’ll be doing all of this using the non-toxic methods employed at Zea Mays Printmaking, including BIG ground, airbrush aquatint, and etching on copper in ferric chloride, making the whole process safer for the artists and less toxic for the environment.  You will be introduced to wiping skills and printing techniques as you develop and print your image through color and learn the ins and outs of color mixing, color modifying and color printing.

This workshop is designed for artists with some basic intaglio experience.

Viscosity monotype with water-based inks involves a loose, painterly, and often, thrilling exploration playing the edge between accident and control.  Create subtle, spontaneous, one-of-a kind prints on delicate papers, using modified inks. Thick and thin inks resist each other in ways that allow for beautiful color interactions in delightfully unpredictable ways.  Learn some of the tricks to making this fun way of exploring color work for you, as you add to your printing vocabulary.  

This workshop offers four action-packed days of creating richly colorful and subtly drawn prints, with an eye toward transforming them into beautiful books.  Students will explore spontaneous mark-making with both monotype and drypoint. These techniques are relatively fast, direct and open to invention.  Our emphasis will be on guided improvisation and learning how to develop layered imagery. We’ll use these prints to create several books that are simple but still very satisfying, including origami variations and the “drum leaf” structure. You will go home with a handful of wonderful books, a brain full of inspiring techniques and the technical know-how to continue exploring on your own.

Zea Mays Printmaking has been a leader in the "non-toxic" printmaking field for over a decade.  Taught by studio founder and director Liz Chalfin, with special guest demonstrations by Anita Hunt, this workshop will cover all we have learned and perfected in that time as it relates to etching on copper.  We'll cover hardground and softground using BIG (Baldwin's Ink Ground), the wonderful new ground from Wales, airbrush aquatints, sandpaper aquatints, coffee lift (a sugar lift substitute), spit bite with ferric and more.  Participants will learn each process through demonstration and experimentation.  We'll make use of the extensive archive of prints at Zea Mays, and the decade of technical research done by our interns.  

Participants will come away from the week-long workshop with the skills to create beautiful etchings in the safest possible ways along with a notebook of handouts, sample plates and prints and an understanding of how to set up a green, sustainable etching practice.

There are no rules or boundaries for contemporary monotypes: unique prints or printed drawings.  Hoping to encourage students to push the limits of this versatile medium, we will demonstrate the basics --mark making, tonality, color theory, transfer drawing, layering, stencils, masks-- as well as exploratory techniques. With the benefit of two instructors and large blocks of creative time, students will be able to tailor their individual goals for this workshop.  The concept of this course is to offer guided experiences and prompts to encourage new practices for all levels of experience.