New Zealand

Acrylic Resist Etching Workshops

Wharepuke Print Studio offers workshops covering two different non toxic etching techniques using copper and aluminium. One-on-one, your group or open group courses available but dates are limited. Courses are run for 1 day to two weeks. Please contact us for dates and costs. Max 8 people.

Copper Etching

Copper is traditionally the metal of choice for etching, it lends itself to fine line work and cross hatching and gives a very accurate, precise print.

The workshop is suitable for all levels of experience and will cover basic line etching on copper using acrylic resists and Edinburgh Etch. There are no toxic fumes created with this technique and no solvents are used.  The workshop will cover plate preparation, applying acrylic resist hard ground, etching and printing using Akua waterbased inks.

Further techniques such as soft ground, wash grounds and colour may be introduced on day two depending on progress.

Materials included: 1 x copper plate,(extra plates are available to purchase from the studio) paper, inks, resists, sundries
You will need to bring: lunch (free tea and coffee is provided at the studio and we now have an excellent café/restaurant on site).
Drawing book(s) pencils etc, ideas for etchings – best to think in linear rather than tonal terms for this technique.

Aluminium Etching

Aluminium gives a totally different result than copper; it is suited to a more painterly, gestural type of mark making.
The workshop is suitable to all levels of experience and will cover plate preparation, applying acrylic resists and etching in copper sulphate/salt solution, printing with Akua waterbased inks, lift ground using Kremelta and multi plate two colour printing. No toxic fumes are produced and no solvents are used in the process.
Lift ground allows you to paint an image onto the plate using melted vegetable fat and then etch that image into the metal.  As aluminium etches with an open texture wide painterly lines can be achieved.

Materials included: 3 aluminium plates, paper, inks, resists, sundries.
You will need to bring: lunch (free tea and coffee is provided at the studio and we now have an excellent café/restaurant on site).
Drawing book(s) pencils etc, ideas for etchings – painterly, gestural marks can be combined with line and tonal areas.  Compositions using two colours will be created.

Wharepuke Print Studio/Art at Wharepuke Print Collection

We Have started a collection of prints made by participants in the workshops and would like to include an example from all those who attend.  If you wish to donate a print made during the workshop it will become part of the permanent collection of the Wharepuke Print Studio.  We will exhibit works from the collection at regular intervals at the new Art at Wharepuke gallery space and use the collection for exchange shows with other studios around the world.

We offer exchanges with other international studios and galleries. Studios send representative works to us for exhibition and we send works to them.  We also hope to produce catalogues of the work produced in the studio in the future.  Donated works will also feature on the web site of the studio and gallery.

Booking for courses is essential as numbers are always limited
Please email to book a place info@nontoxic-printmaking.co.nz