Process Taster: Hard Ground Etching

Description

Come and get your hands inky and your creativity flowing in this mid-week taster session workshop which will introduce you to the basics of working with hard ground etching, creating 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 a hard ground 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 taster session you will be working on zinc plates and etching using copper sulphate solution, a less toxic alternative to traditional nitric acid. This technique is perfect for those who love line work and developing interest through mark making (cross hatch etc.) rather than gradients or tone as a sharp-pointed drawing tool is used to draw through the ground. However we will also experiment with using materials such as sandpaper to create more unusual marks too!  

The course is led with a hands-on approach from the start, with plenty of examples and demonstrations along the way. You will make 1 etching plate over the course of the day, and there will be the opportunity to produce a 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. 

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.

Itinerary

AM: 

• Introduction to technique with examples 
• Plate preparation – filing sanding degreasing  
• Applying ground and drawing  

PM: 

• Etching and proof printing plates  

What’s included?

The course price includes all basic materials including a 12x15cm zinc plate, 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.

What’s next?

You may also want to develop your skills further by booking onto one of our further etching courses in aquatint to create tone in your etchings.

After attending this 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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