First Prints

This past weekend I taught another 2.5-day workshop on the polymer photogravure process at Highpoint Center for Printmaking. Again, I was fortunate in having eight fantastic participants, most of whom happened to be photographers.

The first evening we looked at prints and discussed the kind of film output that is necessary for polymer photogravure and how it varies from the kind of film needed for other processes. We finished the evening by making the film positives using an Epson printer, ready to start making plates on the Saturday.

On Saturday morning I demonstrated the preparation of the plates, the two exposures – aquatint screen and film positive – and the processing. We also covered inking and wiping and how it differs from copperplate. Then they were on their own, making plates and printing, and even after just half a day’s hands-on experience the results were amazing; they were all producing very respectable prints. Sunday was spent working on other images, outputting more film, making new plates or experimenting with the same image using stiffer/looser inks or different papers.

So, thank you Regina Flanagan, Nancy A. Johnson, Carrie Shea, Martina Gates, Philip Anderson, Ashlin Mears, Claudia Danielson and Gina Dabrowski.