Previous Workshops
Pochoir
Taught by: Beth Sheehan In this one-day workshop, participants will learn about the printing technique known as “pochoir” or stenciling. Pochoir is a fun method of printing without equipment and can even be done on three-dimensional surfaces! We will begin by discussing the best materials and techniques for creating simple, detailed, and multi-layered stencils. Participants will create their own images by cutting new stencils, using existing stencils, adapting everyday objects into stencils, and experimenting with various inking techniques. We will discuss color theory and color mixing techniques and participants will be encouraged to play around! Great for all skill levels! No experience or press required!
October 2024
Cyanotype
Taught by: Jillian Marie Browning.
Artist Jillian Marie Browning will lead a beginner-friendly cyanotype printing demonstration, diving into the historic photographic technique's rich history and practical application. Participants will learn how to mix chemicals, coating materials, and creating compositions with found objects or digital negatives. Participants are encouraged to bring any dried, pressed, or fresh botanicals and digital imagery or photographic negatives they would like to incorporate into their works. No prior knowledge of cyanotype required. Participants will need to bring their own paper, but everything else is provided.
October 2024
Botanical Printing on Fabric
Taught by: Celeste Amparo Pfau In this workshop, you will use leaves, flowers, and other plant materials to create striking images on fabric. The plant matter is inked, placed on fabric, then put through a printing press. Make one-of-a kind fashion items that will enhance your wardrobe or a wall hanging that will brighten your room.
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About the instructor:
Celeste Amparo Pfau is an interdisciplinary artist who makes fine art and wearable art as well as interactive public art installations. Her work is often inspired by the diverse natural and human world of the Birmingham area. Celeste’s materials and methods include: pine needle/vine/leaf sculptures, botanical monoprints, dyed fabrics and weaving, watercolor and ink paintings, creative writing, photography, video, and performance. Celeste is a native of Birmingham; however she has gained invaluable experiences about life, culture, art, and creativity by living in Brooklyn NY, Bozeman Mt, and through traveling overseas to Chile, Argentina, Greece, and most recently Japan.
To learn more about Celeste and her art, visit her website: https://www.amparocreativehouse.com/
September 2024
Reduction Relief
Taught by: John Klosterman,
All levels are welcome. This class is suitable for beginners and also for intermediate or advanced participants.
Join us for a 2-day printmaking workshop designed to explore the art of linocut reduction. Reduction relief printing is a method to achieve a multicolor print using one block. You'll learn to create a stunning two-layer lino relief print. Students will create a drawn image utilizing the white of the paper, a color of their choice and a black key layer. Using their drawing as a guide, they will alternate between printing a color and carving to show layers beneath.
August 2024
Drawing
Taught by: Merrilee Challiss.
Over two Sunday afternoons, join us for a relaxed drawing class that will focus on fundamentals and design. Welcome to all levels.
Workshop fee includes drawing materials.
July 2024
Combining Wood Type with Prints
Taught by: Jillian Sico,
Wood type, a staple of letterpress poster printing, is an exciting way to build text-based layers underneath or on top of imagery. Wood type is easy to use on an etching press without letterpress equipment and can be layered with translucent ink to get a variety of interesting effects. This workshop will involve a few rounds of collaborative and experimental type setting that you can print on top of your existing work. Bring any work you want to alter and play with!
July 2024
Pamphlet Bound Books & Japanese Bound Books
Taught by: Irasema Quezada,
Gather up your paper scraps, photos, or old prints to create something new. In this workshop we will repurpose leftover prints into beautiful bound books. You will learn three binding methods to create three different structures, moving from easy to more complex. The focus will be on learning techniques. You will learn about paper properties, different adhesives, and how to design a book of your own..
June 2024
Papermaking
Taught by: Kat Murray.
Join Kat for an immersive two-day papermaking workshop where you'll learn the art of creating handmade paper. In this hands-on experience, participants will explore the fundamentals of papermaking using provided pulp. We will start with basic sheet formation techniques, guiding you through the process of crafting unique paper sheets from pulp. As part of the workshop, you'll have the opportunity to experiment with adding inclusions to your paper, such as flower petals, ripped-up magazine bits, or decorative fibers, to enhance texture and visual interest. Additionally, we'll explore creative techniques for incorporating imagery onto the paper using stencils and pigmented pulp.
June 2024
Collagraph Printing
Taught by: Michael Johnson,
In this workshop we will learn to create and print a collagraph plate. A collagraph is a print using a collage of textures of different papers, gel mediums, and anything that would create a texture on a plexiglass plate. These can be inked in any way that is appropriate for your design, intaglio, relief or both. Students should bring: a variety of papers for collaging.
May 2024
Mylar Stencils for Woodblock
Taught by: Cathie Crawford.
Visiting artist Cathie Crawford will teach a workshop on printing with mylar stencils. Discover the art of Color Reduction Woodcut Printmaking with Mylar stencils and make your own original limited edition color prints. Workshop will cover the basics of color reduction relief printmaking, using Mylar stencils and blended or split-fountain rolls to expand the color possibilities. Students will create a ¼” plywood printing matrix and begin an edition of 5 prints.
April 2024
2 Layer Reductive Monotype
Taught by: Kat Murray. This workshop will explore ways of making a two-layer monotypes. We will go over different techniques for reductive drawing and creating an interesting underlayer. This is a painterly way of printmaking that uses plexiglass as a matrix .
For this workshop bring sketches/drawings/images. Students also might wish to bring their own brushes. All levels workshop.
January 2024
Decorative Lidded Box
Taught by: Irasema Quezada.
In this workshop, we will learn how to create a small, decorative lidded box using binder’s board/mat board, patterned or handmade papers, and decorative buttons or beads. a perfect container for small desk accessories, washi tape, keys, jewelry, or to present as a polished gift box.
December 2023
Beginner's Linoleum Workshop
Taught by Debra Riffe. Learn the basics of relief block printing in a 1-day introductory workshop. Students will create one print and gain an understanding of designing and carving and all the know-how to continue printing at home. Students should purchase: Speedball Lino Cutter set #1: one handle with five cutters.
Students will carve a simple design. They will trace the design and carve the first four hours of class. Using water-based ink. All prints will be hand rubbed with a barren.
October 2023
Hot Glue Collagraphs
Taught by Irasema Quezada. Participants will learn how to build a collagraph printing plate using a hot glue gun. Explore painterly techniques using a simple method. Experienced artists can really take this method to unknown heights while artists with little printmaking experience can often create very sophisticated dreamy prints. Participants will also learn relief and intaglio inking techniques, inking and paper handling, and the use of an etching press as they print a small run of collagraph prints. Each participant will take home a few beautiful prints at the end of the day!
September 2023
Monoprinting with Gel Plates
Taught by Melissa Harshman: This workshop students will learn techniques for monoprinting with gel plates. Akua inks will be used to paint directly on the gel plates. Students will use mylar and cut paper to make stencils. Different effects can be achieved through additive and reductive techniques. All levels welcome.
August 2023
Fundamentals of Letterpress Printing
Taught by: Jillian Sico. This class will go over the fundamentals of letterpress printing, using wood type on an etching press and our two tabletop presses: a Kelsey Excelsior 5x8 press and a 6.5 x 10 Chandler & Price Pilot Press. In the morning, we will print a collaborative broadside edition using wood type. Participants will learn how to set, lock in, and ink wood type properly, and will brainstorm how to combine it with other imagery and type for unique editions. In the afternoon, we will dive into how to print letterpress postcards and greeting cards on the two tabletop presses. This part of the session will include file preparation for ordering pre-made photopolymer plates, how to ink the press, basic printing methods, and cleanup. Participants should expect to stay for the entire class session in order to get a complete overview. Everyone will walk away with a wood type broadside, a few small postcards, and handouts with detailed instructions for future letterpress printing.
July 2023
Textures and Tones through Grounds and Bites
Taught by: Brandon Williams,
This workshop will explore unconventional etching approaches that can be used to create a range of marks, textures, and values. These qualities will be achieved through the application of different types of etching bites, resist grounds, and other processing methods. The integration of these techniques will result in prints with a more organic and natural appearance than ones with only traditional line and aquatint.
An introduction to cracked ground, soap ground, toner wash, sugar lift, open bite, spit bite, and more will be explained and demonstrated. An emphasis is placed on experimentation and investigation.
June 2023
Etching with Botanicals
Taught by: Kimberly McWhorter. In this two day workshop, open to all skill levels, we will explore soft ground impressions using botanical and other materials etched onto copper plates. This process will introduce participants to the fundamentals of intaglio printing and non-toxic etching on copper with ferric chloride and BIG ground that result in rich, layered imagery. Participants are encouraged to enjoy sensory nature walks to gather a variety of textures and natural objects in the days leading up to the workshop. Moss, leaves, very small or dried blooms and feathers will all create unique impressions.
May 2023
Watercolor Monotypes
Taught by: Liza Butts,
This intro-level workshop will cover painterly techniques for mono printing. Participants will work on frosted mylar to paint imagery with gouache, water-soluble pastels, and traditional watercolor paints. This is a great workshop for people who enjoy painting and want a technique that translates easily to printmaking.
June 2023
2 Layer Chiaroscuro Block Printing
Taught by: John Klosterman,
Reduction relief printing is a method to achieve a multicolor print using one block. The focus of this specific class will be to emphasize chiaroscuro to create a successful piece. Students will create a drawn image utilizing the white of the paper, a color of their choice and a black key layer. Using their drawing as a guide, they will alternate between printing a color and carving to show layers beneath.
April 2023
Intro to Monotype Printing
Taught by: Liza Butts,
This intro-level workshop covered the basics of mono-printing. Participants are encouraged to bring natural materials like plant trimmings, flowers, moss, or any other materials they want to print with such as textured papers and fabrics. This workshop is recommended for people who want to learn printmaking basics
April 2023
Alternative Screenprinting Techniques
Taught by visiting artist: Chloe Alexander. In this workshop, participants will learn darkroom-free screenprinting techniques, including using hand-cut stencils and monoprinting to create unique editions or to add painterly elements to traditional silkscreen prints.
February 2023
Mokuhanga: Inking and Printing
Member artist, Richard Stockham, will teach this introductory class on inking and printing for mokuhanga. Mokuhanga is a style of Japanese woodblock printing. In this workshop, students will work with simple pre-made blocks to learn the basics of inking and printing. Learning inking and printing first, will help students make more informed decisions on image selection and carving.
January 2023
Multi-media Monoprints with Repeat Motifs
Stephanie Smith taught this workshop in conjunction with her exhibition: Catch & Release. Participants developed a series of unique, but related monoprints using mixed techniques including relief, screenprint, offset and ghost printing, stencils, and collage´.
About the Instructor: Stephanie Smith is an Atlanta-based artist, printmaker and educator. She earned her B.F.A from the Atlanta College of Art and received a M.F.A. with Distinction from the University of Georgia. Stephanie joined the University of West Georgia Department of Art in 2005 and is a Senior Lecturer teaching Printmaking, Book Arts & Letterpress, Drawing, and Design I. In 2005 she co-founded the non-profit community arts organization, the Atlanta Printmakers and served as the inaugural President.
October 2022
Cyanotype Printing with Jillian Browning
Taught by Jillian Marie Browning. This workshop covered the history of the cyanotype process, how to mix chemistry, how to coat materials, create digital photographic negatives, and how to easily do this process in your home studio. This workshop is perfect for beginners as it takes no prior knowledge of alternative process photography.
About the Instructor: Jillian Marie Browning (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist pursuing themes of feminism, identity, and the contemporary black experience. Born in Ocala, Florida they received a Bachelor of Science degree in Photography from the University of Central Florida in 2012 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from Florida State University in 2015. They currently serve as Assistant Professor of Photography at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
September 2022
Laser Cut Woodblock Workshop
This workshop was taught by UAB Professor of New Media, Elisabeth Pellathy. The first day of the workshop will be spent at UAB working on the computers and with the laser etcher. The second day will take place at PWL to print the woodcuts. Workshop participants should bring their own imagery in the form of a digital photograph to turn into a woodblock print. This is an intermediate level workshop.
Elisabeth Pellathy (b. 1982, Latrobe, Pennsylvania) trained at Alfred University School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred, NY receiving a BFA in 2005 and an MFA in electronic integrated arts in 2011..
The class fee includes one 6 x 12 sheet of hard maple to etch.
August 2022
Linoleum Carving and Block Printing Workshop
In this workshop, students will learn basic linocut and block printing techniques. All are welcome to participate; level of expertise is a non-issue. The first day of the workshop will be spent carving. The second day students will complete carving and make prints.
The workshop will be taught by artist Debra Riffe. Riffe received her BFA in Illustration from Howard University College of Fine Arts, Washington DC. She has studied with engraver Barry Moser at Zea Mays Printmaking, Florence, MA and with woodcut artist Nick Wroblewski Grand Marais Art Colony, Minnesota. Riffe is represented by Canary Gallery, Birmingham, AL.
July 2022
SCREENPRINT WITH THE SUN!
In this workshop, students will learn to make photo stencils for screenprinting anywhere and under a variety of natural lighting conditions. We will cover metering light with free phone apps, selecting appropriate materials for different exposure conditions, and experimentation with the newfound freedom of exposing 3D materials and cast shadows.
The workshop will be led by Andy Holliday, Andy teaches printmaking at Auburn University. His studio practice ranges from printmaking to ceramics and sculpture. Andy's current work explores the roles of communication and collaboration in the creative process.
June 2022
WORLD COLLAGE DAY WORKSHOP
Details: Explore the history and evolution of fine art collage in this workshop on World Collage Day, 2022. Join us for a day of cutting and pasting while we contemplate the centuries-long history of collage and the powerful opportunities for creative expression made possible with paper, scissors, and glue.
The workshop will be led by Teresa Cribelli, a collage artist and professor of history at the University of Alabama. Cribelli combines her love of collage and history in her artistic practice. Her work has been exhibited in New Orleans and Minneapolis, and is held in the Doug and Laurie Kanyer Art Collection and private collections.
May 2022
SMALL PAPER SCULPTURE
Details: In this workshop artist Tracie Noles-Ross will guide you in creating your own small paper mâché sculptures. Over the course of two sessions, you will design and craft your own paper mâché piece using materials that can be found in your recycling bin. Cardboard will be used to create an armature and then details and embellishments will be added using a variety of papers that can be found around your house. The object of this approach to making for Noles-Ross is to be receptive and responsive to her environment and to create objects and characters out of the detritus of daily life.
ARTEFACTS OF NATURAL DYE
Details: Taught by Doug Baulos and Kole Nichols. Workshop participants will experiment widely with a selection of wet media and other historic and innovative approaches to developing works on paper & using mixed media. Participants are first guided in creating innovative works by learning to combine familiar techniques with new approaches and conventional media with unusual formats and surfaces.
Printed marks and images aren’t just things – they are experiences – how can we create a correspondence that is complex and fulfilling for the viewer? What is collage – if I obscure or layer things – does that make the viewer want to see them more? Fixed image – Fluid Image – in the workshop we will explore layering, collage, folding and printing processes.
SUMINAGASHI & PAPER PASTE MARBLING
Details: In this workshop taught by Jillian Sico, students will transform plain paper into decorative sheets using marbling and paste paper techniques. Suminagashi is a Japanese technique for marbling paper using water-based inks, resulting in free-flowing swirls of pigment. Students will also learn how to make paste paper, a technique using pigmented wheat paste that results in more controlled designs. Both paste paper and marbling have been used historically for end sheets and covers of books and for a variety of artistic applications, including printmaking and collage. No experience is required for this beginner-level workshop.
MOKULITO
Details: Taught by Nic Tisdale. Mokulito is an alternative Japanese printmaking technique, based on the principles of lithography but using wood as a printing matrix instead of limestone or metal. It is a very flexible and spontaneous technique allowing for expressive mark making, fine drawing lines, and can easily be combined with woodcut and other printmaking processes. Students will explore a range of traditional and non-traditional lithographic mediums such as litho crayons, tusche, acrylic paint, and other plastic mediums. This workshop is aimed at artists who wish to experiment with alternative printmaking procedures and non-stable print processes. No previous experience with lithography is necessary. The workshop is suitable for beginner and experienced printmakers.
PRESSURE PRINTING AND STENCILING WORKSHOP
Details: Taught by Kimberley McWhorter. Students will explore pressure printing in combination with stenciling while learning to mix and layer colors on both mulberry and cotton rag papers. Pressure printing varies from other printmaking processes in that the material used to create the image is placed behind the printing paper, never coming into contact with the ink itself as it goes through the press. The resulting images are fuzzy and full of character, adding visual interest to the graphic nature of stencils. Experimentation and play are highly encouraged. All skill levels are welcome.
NON-TOXIC INTAGLIO CLASS - MARCO HERNANDEZ
Details: This workshop will consist of various non-toxic copper intaglio techniques. Participants will be shown how to etch copper plates to create various types of lines, textures, and values with Ferric Chloride using non-toxic grounds. Traditional intaglio printing and Chine-Colle will also be demonstrated. class is limited to 6 people. Masks are required.
About the Instructor: Marco Hernandez is a Mexican Artist/Printmaker who teaches at Wichita State University. He received his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Kansas State University in December of 2015. The theme and imagery in his work relates to his culture and unique upbringing in the United States.
CUT, LAYER, PASTE, REPEAT
Details: Cut layer paste is taught by Michael Willett who is an art professor at University of Montevallo.
The art of collage is all about exploration, trial and error, and PLAY! The goal of this workshop is to experiment with new methods of working and enjoy the process of collage. All levels are welcome.
The workshop will include an artist talk on the artwork in the gallery & short lecture on collage artists, demos of several techniques associated with collage and non-toxic image transfers, and participant making time. Individual guidance and personal critiques will be ongoing.
We will create mixed-media collages using acrylic paint, cut paper, a variety of drawing tools, and transfers of B&W photocopies. Emphasis will be placed on finding design unity and constructing meaning through the combination of disparate images and mark making.We will focus on collage as a process of working (over creating refined finished product),while working on several pieces at a time to develop a small series.
COLLAGRAPHS ON SINTRA PLATE
Details: Sintra Plate is made from PVC plastic. It is a very versatile material that you can draw into, carve, cut shapes out of, layer on wet and dry materials, and experiment easily with color. This process is flexible and good for people who like the feeling of a monoprint, but want to build a plate they can make multiple editions from. The supply fee includes 2 Sintra plates and some basic materials to build collagraphs. Please bring any materials you want to experiment with: i.e. fabric, tape, cardstock, cardboard, spray paint, dried plant materials. The process is based around gluing materials on the plate, letting the materials dry, and then inking the plate to print.
Liza is a painter and printmaker. You can view her work at lizabutts.com
DEZZY MOON: SCREENPRINT MONOPRINTS
Details: The workshop is suitable for any skill level. It is screen printing without coating a screen and burning an image. You can paint, draw, or put ink directly onto the screen. You can also hand cut stencils with freezer paper for a more traditional approach to screen printing. The several methods appeal to many different types of artists. You can approach it in a very loose, painterly way, you can draw directly onto the screen. Dezzy Moon has her BFA in printmaking from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and teaches at Green Pea Press.
You can see her work at dezzymoonart.com.
Nontoxic Aluminum Plate Lithography
Details: participants will learn the process for etching an aluminum litho plate using nontoxic chemicals. Students will experiment with drawing materials like tusche, litho crayons, and sharpies. The workshop will cover how to gum and sponge plates, and how to set up and use the Litho press. This is an introductory workshop to Plate Lithography.
About the Instructor: Liza Butts is a multimedia artist from Birmingham, Alabama. She studied visual arts at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and received her BFA in Studio Art at Washington University in St. Louis. Liza as worked with the Island Press and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. Liza has exhibited prints at the Harnett Biennial of American Prints in Richmond, Virginia, Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey, among other places.
ETHIOPIAN AND COPTIC LINK-STITCH JOURNALS
Details: Description: In this workshop, participants will learn several link-stitch book structures, including soft-cover link-stitch and two hard-cover variations. Ethiopian and Coptic are historic link-stitch techniques that date to around the 4th century AD. Participants will have the opportunity to use decorative paper, maps, and original prints to make personalized, modern versions of these ancient structures.
About the Instructor: Jillian Sico is a papermaker, printer, and bookbinder who makes artist books under the imprint Frogsong Press. She received a BA in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in 2005, an MA in Anthropology from the University of Georgia in 2013, and an MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama (UA) in 2020. She currently lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she teaches courses in fine and interdisciplinary arts at UA.
PRONTO PLATE WORKSHOP
Details: This workshop will be held on Saturday, July 18th, 2020 from 10am - 4pm. Pronto plates are polyester plates that can be printed with a laser jet or can be drawn on directly with a litho crayon or sharpie. The class will cover printing with multiple images, using a combination of drawing methods and photo methods, as well as preparing your images on the computer. There is a lot of opportunity to layer images in this process! This process is great for making cards and alternative photo prints!! Bring a flashdrive with images that you like. Registration is $90 - an $85 fee plus a $5 supply fee. Students should bring their own paper. Each student will receive 5 pronto plates. Email will be sent prior to class with more details.
About the Instructor: Liza Butts is a multimedia artist from Birmingham, Alabama. She studied visual arts at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and received her BFA in Studio Art at Washington University in St. Louis. Following school, Liza lived in New York City where she worked at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. There, her love of printmaking was ignited and she began making monoprints with textiles. Liza has exhibited prints at the Harnett Biennial of American Prints in Richmond, Virginia, and at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Monoprints with Fabric Workshop
Details: This workshop will be held on March 7th and 8th from 10am-4pm both days. Students will experiment with fabric, plastics, and other textured materials to make monoprints with embossment. This class is great for those who like a flexible process and to play around with new materials. We will cover "ghost printing," mixing ink, printing with multiple colors, and doing multi-layered monoprints. This class will accessible to people with and without printmaking experience, so please join! Registration is $125 and please bring four (4) sheets of Rives BFK paper of any color. Ink will be supplied.
About the Instructor: Liza Butts is a multimedia artist from Birmingham, Alabama. She studied visual arts at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and received her BFA in Studio Art at Washington University in St. Louis. Following school, Liza lived in New York City where she worked at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. There, her love of printmaking was ignited and she began making monoprints with textiles. Liza has exhibited prints at the Harnett Biennial of American Prints in Richmond, Virginia, and at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey.
One Color Woodblock Prints Workshop
Students will complete a simple black and white woodblock print. Jane will teach the processes of transferring the image, registration, carving, and printing. The design should be simple to be completed in one day. Students will carve a 6x8 shina plywood block and print onto hosho paper. Blocks, paper, and ink will be provided. Caving tools will be available for studio use. Registration is $95, click the link below to register.
Book Arts Workshop
Students will use environmentally-friendly cyanotype printing processes to create books from digital negatives. Shooting and editing images, book layout, making digital negatives, alternative photo printing and darkroom techniques, and simple bindings will be covered.
About Pocket Knife Press (Christopher Davenport): I tell stories of ecology, place, and people through photographs, film, handmade paper, and the artist book. As a teaching artist, I lead courses in: Documentary and Conservation Photography, Image and Identity, The Art of Protest, Film and the Environment, Art & Ecology, and Environmental Research & Advocacy at The University of Alabama and Book Arts, Conceptual Arts, Fundamental Drawing, 2D design, and 4D Design (time-based contemporary art) at The University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Color Theory for Printmakers by Jane Marshall
About the Instructor: Jane Marshall has taught classes, workshops, lectured, exhibited, and served as artist-residence at several universities including Kansas State, Wisconsin, Cornell, Western Michigan, Albright College, Indiana State, and more recently at UAB. She was the first artist selected for a residency at Studio in the Woods in New Orleans. She collaborated on "Big Prints," a project organized by Scott Stephens at the University of Montevallo that resulted in the production of three large-scale prints that were exhibited at several museums in Alabama. Her collaboration with Sue Gosin of Dieu Donne, NYC, on "Medea," a large-scale artist book, was exhibited at and is in the collection of the New York Public Library.
Cyanotype Workshop
Details: In conjunction with our "Selfies and Psychos" exhibition, artist Colin Williams will teach a cyanotype workshop on July 20th, 2019 from 10am - 4pm. Cyanotype is a photographic printing process using a transparency and the sun creating beautiful blue and white images. Registration is $75 per person, for questions e-mail PaperWorkers directly at Paperworkerslocal@gmail.com or visit the contact tab on our website.
About the Artist: Collin Williams is a Professor of Art and director of New Media concentration at the University of Montevallo. He received his MFA and BFA from the University of Houston, University Park. His teaching expertise spans a range of topics including digital photography and printing, animation, 3D animation, web media, mixed media, digital video and printmaking.
Solar Plate Workshop
Details: This workshop will take place on Saturday, May 4th from 10am - 4pm with a break for lunch. Registration is $95, plates and supplies will be furnished. The goal is to create a print from a drawing and another print from a photo image. Students will learn to create prints using photo-polymer plates. These plates are relatively safe using only water to develop the image. Attendees will explore making images using drawing and mark making on acetate, as well as making images from digital photo files. Students should bring a thumb drive with a photo image they would like to create a print from. A laptop with photoshop or apple photos is suggested but the studio computer can be shared.
About the Instructor: John Demotte Received his BFA in 1987 from the University of Montevallo in photography and printmaking. Beginning his career in Washington, D.C., he worked on projects for the Phillips Collection, Capitol Hill Arts Center and the Washington - Moscow Arts and Cultural Exchange. Since returning to Birmingham in 1991, he has been with the Atchison Gallery/Village Framers, where he is now Vice President and Master Framer. A founding member of PaperWorkers Local, John has led workshops on Solar Plate photo-intaglio and cyanotype photo processes. John works mainly in photography and printmaking, specializing in photo intaglio and engraving with monoprint.
Layered Printmaking With Xerox Transfers
This workshop will take place Saturday, February 23rd from 1:30pm - 4:30pm at the Birmingham Museum of Art. In this class you will learn to turn your drawings and photos into print elements using a non-toxic paper lithography process using gum Arabic and litho ink. We will then combine these elements with printed textures. Once you learn the process, the combinations are limitless! Bring your favorite drawings and photos making sure they're high contrast; i.e. printed in black and white, not grayscale. Also remember to flip your images before printing because the final product will be a mirror image. Registration is $50 and includes all materials, click the button to register with the Birmingham Museum of Art or visit their website.
Reductions Screen Printing with Matt Hopson Walker
In a reduction print the artist develops all colors from the same screen. The process starts with drawing a design into a new screen and printing the first color on each sheet of paper in the edition. Then the printmaker covers more of the screen with emulsion and proceeds to print the second color. Typically, one prints from lightest to darkest color and the process of drawing and printing continues for each additional color until the final layer is printed. After completion of the print, another edition can never be made as the screen has been almost completely filled during the reduction process.
Textile Monoprints with Orange Barrel Industries
Blake and Hannah Sanders of Orange Barrel Industries will lead a workshop introducing basic techniques for carving woodblocks, printing on textiles, assembling, and perhaps even some machine stitching and/or hand embroidery. Students will carve woodblocks and print, and then cut and sew colorful, unique monoprints. The finished product might not be magnificently crafted, it might be loose and expressive, or downright shoddy but fun.
This workshop is ideal for those who already have a print background and want to learn more about printing on alternative substrates, using fabric as a vehicle for monoprinting and improvisation, and being more ecological in their practice.
Draw! Carve! Print! Workshop with Debra Riffe
In this class, students will learn about the different tools and materials used to design and create their own one-of- a-kind design from a linoleum block. No previous linoleum block carving experience is required.
Students will learn how to:
-transfer their design onto a block
-outline and cut the image
-select the proper cutting tools
-mix inks and apply with rollers
-print by hand and on the press
Botanical Monoprints With Celeste Pfau
This one-hour introductory workshop covers printing plant materials using an etching press as well as without a press using Gelli plates. Each student will leave the class with their own unique artworks.
Celeste Amparo Pfau is a fine artist based in Birmingham, Alabama. Natural spaces, whether wild or planted are her muse and source of materials. There she gathers flowers, foliage, seeds and roots to use in a unique process. Her botanical monoprints involve the careful arrangement of ethically harvested plant matter and oil-based inks. Each print, visual or wearable, is created on a manually operated etching press. Celeste hopes that her work can be a bridge to connect people to the natural world and to each other.
Geometric Journals: Printing & Bookbinding Workshop with Lindsay Schmittle
In this two-day workshop, students will print layered compositions on etching presses selecting from the large geometric printing blocks carved by exhibiting artist, Lindsay Schmittle, and used in her The Printed Walk series (opening April 5th). On day two, participants will crop their prints to use as notebook covers as they learn basic bookbinding techniques to bind three journals.
Carborundum printing with Mike Marks
September 16 & 17, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Carborundum printing is an exciting form of collagraph where highly textured plates are made using carborundum grit (finely ground metal particles). This process lends itself to approaching print with a painterly perspective, the allowance of collage processes, and combining plates in unique and possibly collaborative ways. In this workshop, students will explore mark-making techniques and surface development, approaches to inking, and pulling finished prints. Come embrace this playful form of printmaking for a new experience or to add to your repertoire!
Mike Marks is an artist and printmaker based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Highpoint Center for Printmaking. He holds a BFA in Drawing from the Cleveland Institute of Art, and an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Delaware.
INTRO TO SOLARPLATE ETCHING with John DeMotte
September 23, 2017, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.
This workshop will introduce techniques used to make photographic and drawn images on a photo-sensitive polymer plate. Attendees will learn how to create a positive transparency image from both a photo file and from a drawing that will be used to make a Solarplate intaglio plate. This process is both relatively easy and non-toxic.
Supplies and a handout will be included but you must bring at least 1 digital photo image file on a thumb drive. If you have a laptop with photoshop or iphoto that would be helpful as well. Lunch will not be provided but we will take a break and go to one of the area eating establishments.
Enrollment is limited to 7 students
Tuition is $75.00