Intro to: Etching with Aquatint

Description

Spend a fun, hands-on 2 days learning the basics of etching to create your own hand-made prints in our professionally equipped studios. Famously used by artists such as Goya, Rembrandt and Picasso, etching produces prints with a unique quality of line and a characteristic embossed edge.  

To make an etching plate, a resist is applied to a metal plate and acid is used to ‘bite’ areas which have been exposed. This creates grooves in the plate surface which hold ink when printed. On this introduction to etching course you will be working on zinc plates and etching using copper sulphate solution, a less toxic alternative to traditional nitric acid. You will learn how to use hard ground, soft ground and aquatint to enable you to create a wide variety of marks and effects.  

The course is led with a hands-on approach from the start, with plenty of examples and demonstrations along the way. You will make 2 etching plates during the 2 days, and there will be the opportunity to produce a good number of prints to take away with you. You will also learn about paper, inking and registration techniques. This is a great course for beginners and those who need a refresher, and is perfect as a lead-in to membership of WYPW, so that you can continue to use and develop the techniques you have learned. 

The course price includes all basic materials including 2 x 12x15cm zinc plates, inks, cartridge paper, tools and equipment. Other materials and printmaking papers will be available to buy during the course if you would like to try something a bit different, or take some materials home to try out.

Our technician Kate Desforges runs this course. Kate has been making etchings and hybrid prints for over 15 years. She will guide you through the process step-by-step and ensure you leave with a good grounding (groan!) in the process.

*Please note that some of the substances we use for etching are classed as hazardous. You will be provided with personal protective equipment such as gloves and goggles, but we would not recommend this course for anyone who is sensitive to solvents or for pregnant women. Please get in touch if you have any queries.  

Your tutor : Kate Desforges

Kate Desforges is an artist, printmaker and educator based in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, working with drawing, printmaking and collage to create limited edition original prints and artist books. Kate’s work is rooted in a fascination with her surroundings, and is often the result of an unspoken dialogue with a particular place – real or imaginary. Presence, memory, temporality, and finding the sublime in the ordinary are ideas which repeatedly arise. Corners, shadows, architecture, landscapes, and moments of stillness are a constant source of inspiration. She uses printmaking and collage as mediums to form, distill and abstract, keeping experimentation and the physical act of making at the core of my practice. Kate is also the studio coordinator and technician at WYPW.

See more on her tutor profile here: https://wypw.org/tutors/kate-desforges/

Experience level

No previous experience is needed for this course. Beginners are welcome, along with those who need a refresher. Our Introduction to Etching workshop is also great as a follow-on course for those who have attended one of our Etching Taster Sessions.

What’s included?

All basic materials such as paper, tools and equipment are provided. Other materials and printmaking papers will be available to buy during the course if you would like to try something a bit different or take some materials home to try out.

What’s next?

After attending this Introduction to Etching course you will be well equipped to join our workshop as a member and continue to use our facilities to make and develop your own work. The sooner the better, as the longer you leave it the more you are likely to forget! Sign up for membership within one month of attending the course you will receive a £5 discount. Find out more about the benefits of membership here.

Cancellation Policy:

• If you have to cancel:

If you are unable to attend your booked course, we may accept the fee paid as payment towards a place on the same or another course that takes place within the same financial year (running 1 April-31 March) following the originally booked event. Such a transfer will be on condition that we are informed in writing of your intentions four weeks prior to the originally booked event. Bookings can only be transferred once.

• 16-12 weeks before the course: 50 % of the fee will be retained by WYPW
• Less than 12 weeks before the course: 100% of the fee will be retained by WYPW
• Please note that full payment is required for non-attendance on a booking that has been transferred.

If you have any further questions about our cancellation policy, please contact us on info@wypw.org  

• If we have to cancel:

West Yorkshire Print Workshop reserves the right to cancel or re-arrange courses if there are insufficient participants enrolled to run a viable course or for other unforeseen circumstances. We will do our best to give those who have already enrolled at least one weeks’ notice of cancellation. In such circumstances you will be offered a free transfer to another course date or a full refund of fees paid.

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