"Beyond the Block": Experimenting With Nontraditional Printmaking Workshop

Instructor: Meredith D’Amore

Date: Saturday, February 18 from 10am-12pm

Cost: $15 Del Ray Artisans member / $25 non-member, plus $5 supply fee & bring required supplies

Class size: 3-10 participants

(Register by midnight on February 14)

Explore ways to make prints without purchasing tons of supplies. Use reclaimed materials to divert waste from landfills while creating prints that can stand alone or be incorporated into artwork from other disciplines.

Artists from all disciplines and experience levels are invited to explore ways to use found objects and upcycled materials to create nontraditional prints. Instructor Meredith D'Amore will demonstrate plate-making techniques with recycled packaging materials as well as how to ink plates to achieve different results without the need for a press. Students will create their own collagraphs and discuss ways to reduce the ecological footprint of our artmaking as we explore ways to make prints with what we already have.

Students are asked to pay a $5 supply fee for shared materials used in the workshop. Students must also bring their own supplies listed in the 2023 Beyond the Block Supply List (open document) and below.

Students must bring the following required supplies:

Xacto knife (with a sharp/new blade)

Cutting surface (back of your sketchbook, small cutting mat, or cutting board)

Scissors

Glue stick

Ruler/straight edge (metal works best)

Pencil and pen for sketching ideas

Sketchbook or paper for sketching ideas

Brayer

Speedball Water Soluble Block Printing Ink Starter Set - 6 bold colors with 1.25 tubes. If you don’t want the full starter set, at least purchase tubes of two colors. You may purchase inks from other brands, but make sure the inks are water soluble.

Wooden spoon or large metal spoon for burnishing prints

Printmaking paper (does not have to be expensive) - Suggested: Strathmore 333-11 300 Series Printmaking, Lightweight, 11 x 14 inches, 30 sheets; also recommended: Mulberry Paper

Stack of newspapers/magazine/phone book for scrap paper

1-2 Large zip-lock baggies (gallon size)

Optional Supplies:

Smock or apron (Water soluble ink should wash off clothing, but may not from certain fabrics.)

Scraps of textured paper, fabrics, aluminum foil, natural objects like textured leaves or feathers, tiny food boxes like raisin boxes, clean and dry food packaging like styrofoam takeout containers or flat clear plastic panels from clamshell containers.

Face masks are recommended inside the gallery.