Introduction to Printmaking: Relief

Catalog description

This class is an introduction to printmaking as an art form with emphasis on relief printing techniques. The history of print, both as a tool for communication and as an art medium, will be discussed. While this studio class will be comprised of project based, hands-on learning – lecture, live demos and the practice of documenting one’s process in a process notebook will also be included. Students will learn how to correctly use wood carving tools, oil-based ink and its modifiers, as well as safe handling of etching presses. We will be using nontoxic best-practices for using, storing and cleaning up printmaking ink as well as nontoxic studio maintenance. Students will engage with the relief printmaking techniques of block-print pattern design, multi-block woodcuts using a key block, 4-color reduction linocuts and printing with found objects. Each assignment will build on the last and all will include strategies for color printing, registration techniques and what it means to create an edition. They will also acquire skills in color separation, layering transparent colors to create a full spectrum, graphic depth and compositional considerations, planning a project in steps and safe studio practices. At the end of the semester students will have a solid foundation in the process of relief printmaking – as well as a buildable toolbox of skills that can be applied to other artistic mediums.