Newsletter January 2007
Winter Workshops 2007
All workshops are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Younger children should be accompanied by an adult. Dates and times will be arranged with students once interest is confirmed. Class size is limited!
Dry-Point
1) Title: Introduction to Dry-point
Students will be introduced to plate preparation and one colour printing in dry-point.
Prerequisites: None
Duration: 2 days
When? To be arranged
Where? UIS studios, 317 Main St., Shawville
Course fee: $120.00 Materials Fee: $15.00
Collagraph
2) Title: Introduction to Collagraph Printing
Students will be introduced to the unique qualities of collagraph plate making and printing in one colour.
Prerequisites: None
Duration: 3 days
When? To be arranged
Where? UIS studios, 317 Main St., Shawville
Course fee: $180.00 Materials Fee: $15.00
Relief Printing
3) Title: Introduction to Relief Printing
Students will be introduced to cutting and printing basic relief plates in one and then more colours.
Prerequisites: None
Duration: 2 days
When? To be arranged
Where? UIS studios, 317 Main St., Shawville
Course fee: $120.00 Materials Fee: $15.00
Please Note: UIS will keep one exemplar of every edition or non-editioned series of prints made on-premises
Lithography
4) Title: Introduction to Lithography
Students will be introduced to basic lithography in one colour
Prerequisites: None
Duration: 2 days
When? To be arranged
Where? UIS studios, 317 Main St., Shawville
Course fee: $120.00 Materials Fee: $15.00
For Kids
1) Title: Potato Printing and Beyond
A course designed for the younger set. An exploration of various printing techniques. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Prerequisites: None
Duration: 1/2 day
When? To be arranged
Where? UIS studios, 317 Main St., Shawville
Course fee: $30.00 Materials Fee: Included
Open Studio
Advance beyond the introductory level and continue with the development of your skills in printmaking at your leisure.
Prerequisites: Any of the Introductory Courses or their equivalent
Duration: You will have access to the studio during opening hours (when Raymond is present) on a monthly basis to continue working in any of the media for which you have taken Introductory Courses or their equivalent.
When? To be arranged
Where? UIS studios, 317 Main St., Shawville
Please let Raymond know ahead of time when you will be there to make sure the studio equipment is available.
Fee: $30.00 / month Materials Fee: All materials are covered in the monthly fee except papers
Other Workshops: There may be some area of interest in printmaking not listed as a workshop here (ie Mezzotint). If so, and I can offer instruction we can put together a workshop for you.
Intaglio Printmaking Techniques: Part 1
Dry-Point
With Dry-point printing the surface of the plate (copper, zinc or plastic) is scratched with a sharp instrument, i.e. an etching needle. This creates a line that not only goes into the plate but with the resulting bur, comes out of the plate. The ink when introduced to the plate stays in the scratch and the bur. This scratch and bur create lines that, though not as clean as an engraved or etched line, produce wonderful textures.
Etching
To Etch a plate (usually copper or zinc) one covers the plate completely with an acid resistant surface (or ground). This surface is then scratched with an etching needle. This exposes the metal. Once the plate has been scratched in this manner it is put in an acid solution. The acid eats at the metal exposed by the scratching, producing holes in the surface of the plate. The resist is then removed and the plate inked. As with the other intaglio methods the ink on the plate is in the holes on the surface of the plate, and it is these holes that produce the image on the printed paper.
Soft-Ground Etching, Aquatint, and Lift-Ground Etching are all variants on etching.
Pointe sèche
En gravure à la pointe sèche, la surface de la plaque (cuivre, zinc ou plastique) est marquée avec un outil bien aiguisée, p. ex. une pointe d’eau forte. Cette action creuse un trait directement dans la plaque, et soulève une barbe abondante. Durant l’impression, l’encre reste dans la rayure ainsi que dans la barbe. Cette combinaison crée des traits qui sont moins nets et fins qu’en eau-forte ou en gravure au burin, mais qui produisent des textures merveilleuses.
L’eau-forte
L’eau-forte est un procédé par lequel la surface de la plaque (d’habitude cuivre ou zinc) est complètement couverte avec un matériel résistant à l’acide. Ensuite l’artiste gratte la surface à l’aide d’une pointe pour dégager le vernis du métal. Le métal est alors exposé.
Quand ce procédé est terminé, la plaque est mise dans un bain d’acide. L’acide ronge le métal aux endroits grattés, laissant des trous dans la surface de la plaque. Le matériel résistant est enlevé ensuite, et l’encre est appliqué. L’encre sur la plaque reste dans les trous laissés par l’acide. Ces trous produisent l’image sur le papier après l’impression.
Le vernis mou et l’aquatinte sont des variations sur l’eau-forte.
For more on this topic see:
E.S. Lumsden, The Art of Etching, Dover Publications, New York,, 1962
Nicole Malenfant, L’estampe, La Documentation Québécoise, Ministère des Communications, Québec, 1979
Deli Sacilotto, Donald Saff, Printmaking, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1978
- October 7th & 8th Raymond and UIS participated in the first Campbell’s Bay Arts Festival. The festival went well and we all appreciated the hosting of the festival by Sébastien Beaudoin at his home and pottery studio - Atelier du Druide.
- The new Pontiac School of the Arts (PSOTA) Fall Programme went ahead this past year with 2 courses offered in conjunction with Heritage College. Other courses including those offered by Raymond and Renate Sander-Regier did not run. Another time!
- After Thanksgiving UIS winter hours came into effect
- October 18th one of Raymond’s pieces “Brook Trout Dreams II” was entered into the silent auction for the annual Fall Run Dinner for the Atlantic Salmon Federation. It went for well above the asking price.
- From November 6th to December 4th Raymond exhibited work in the smaller section of Café 349. The show was entitled “Anticipating Winter”. Nancy Dagenais Elliot, a painter exhibited in the larger space with a show entitled “Pontiac Colours’.
- December 4th 2006 to January 2nd 2007 Raymond participated in a PAA group show at Café 349.
- Over the past couple of months the installation of a lithography studio has taken effort and time. This has meant making the studio more user friendly in terms of space, storage and ventilation. Though the studio still needs some work it is operative.
The Christmas and New Year’s Season is over and we are settling into Winter.
- UIS is offering workshops in Dry-point, Collagraph and other printmaking media (see description page 1 & 2).
- The installation of a lithographic studio this fall has made it possible to offer lithographic workshops. Come in and see for yourself. Take a course!
- Our involvement in the Pontiac Artist’s Association (PAA) continues
- The planning of the 2007 season for PSOTA is well under way. It looks to be a great year for the school and its students.
My name is Raymond Sander-Regier, and I am the founder, manager and owner of Underground Impressions Souterraines (UIS). I am a professional artist who has practiced various forms of printmaking ever since finishing my fine arts studies at university. For some time now I have wanted to make it possible for others to share in my passion.
The tradition of artist’s printmaking studios has a long and honoured history. These studios provided the space in which artists, with the help of a resident printmaker, could interpret their work in print. There are still many fine studios of this sort in existence today.
This tradition is at the heart of what I want for UIS. Someday it may happen. For the here and now, less lofty goals might be:
1) establishing a fine arts print studio in the Pontiac
2) to provide the opportunity for Pontiac artists to use the print medium as an expression of their own work
3) to offer a space in the Pontiac where printmaking techniques can be learned and practiced
4) to provide a space in the Pontiac to expose residents and visitors to fine arts prints, its tradition, technique and contemporary expression
5) to offer exhibition space for fine arts works in print executed in the UIS studio.