This course will explore the use of instant coffee as an alternative to the traditional sugar lift aquatint technique, a method practiced for centuries to produce painterly areas of tone. Over the course of two sessions, we will use a combination of coffee lift aquatint and drypoint techniques to create a 4x4” etching.

This workshop is a fun family printmaking class. We will be painting stenciled mylar plates with water-based inks to create subtle and intricate monotype prints. This process allows you to paint quickly onto the mylar plates, then transfer the ink to dampened paper using an etching press. You will learn about ghost images, which can achieve wonderful effects with immediate results. This technique is completely non-toxic and the fee covers participation for 1 parent and elementary school age child.

Participants will learn the fundamentals of cyanotype printing using plant matter and other objects on an exposure unit, exploring cyanotype as a lumen-style photogram process. Cyanotype, also known as the blueprint, was discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1842. It is an iron-based photographic process developed in the early days of photography. The cyanotype is typically an image rendered on paper in various shades of blue. As an entry-level workshop, this class will introduce participants to this accessible and creative process. Lumen prints, including cyanotypes, are created by placing objects on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to UV light, producing delicate and often unpredictable tonal variations. The workshop will conclude with a session on transforming prints into paper dolls.