Printmaking Courses at Wharepuke
Acrylic Resist Etching Workshops
Wharepuke Print Studio offers printmaking course and workshops in non-toxic acrylic resist etching techniques using copper and aluminium. Courses can be arranged to suit small groups and open to all levels of experience from complete beginner to professional development residencies. Please contact us for dates and costs or sign up to the data base to be kept informed about future workshops.
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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.
Booking for courses is essential as numbers are always limited
More information on Nontoxic Printmaking Courses
Please email to for more information and to book a place