Printmaking Curriculum 1: Techniques

See a comprehensive overview printmaking techniques: intaglio, relief, silkscreening, lithography, and more. Explained are the various techniques to provide depth and insight into the process of printmaking.

39 min. video
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Discussion with Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Mia Rozear and Guest Artist Dorian Epps.

Video Walkthrough

  • Printmaking techniques have an enormous range: printmaking that requires years of training and professional equipment, to printing at home with potato prints
  • Printmaking is often known as “art for the people” since it made it possible for more people to afford prints at a lower price compared to paintings.
  • Many printmaking processes require tons of diverse materials, as well as an understanding of the role each of those materials within each process.
  • Craftsmanship in printmaking can be very challenging, you’d be surprised how hard it can be to pull a print that doesn’t have fingerprints on it!
  • In the past many printmaking materials have been highly toxic, there has been a push for safter materials.
  • An example would be using ferric chloride to etch copper plates, instead of using nitric acid to etch zinc plates.
  • Some printmaking techniques require a press, while others can be done with hand printing.
  • Techniques like lithography and intaglio require extensive training and a professional printshop to do.
  • There is a community aspect to being a printmaker; working in a shop with others, sharing supplies and spaces.
  • Printmaking requires a lot of patience, often if you want to print an edition of 5 prints you could find yourself printing 20 to get 5 that will work!
  • No matter how much experience you have as a printmaking, there is constant troubleshooting in the process.
  • There are many intaglio printmaking processes, and they are often used in combination with each other.
  • There are both acid and non-acid processes in intaglio printmaking.
linoleum printmaking, banner
Multi-Color Linoleum Printmaking

Techniques Mentioned

Lithography
  • Lithographic Stones
  • Aluminum Plates
  • Photo Lithography
Intaglio
relief
Image transfers
Collagraphs
Silkscreening
Monotypes
Stencils

Printmaking: Gelli Plate Stencils, banner
Gelli Plates & Stencils

Artists Mentioned

  • John Baldessari
  • Edward Bernstein
  • Mary Cassatt
  • Elizabeth Catlett
  • Vija Celmins
  • John Crome
  • Honoré Daumier
  • Edgar Degas
  • Albrecht Dürer
  • Eric Fischl
  • Francisco Goya
  • Edward Henderson
  • Hokusai
  • Sidney Hurwitz
  • Käthe Kollwitz
  • Michael Mazur
  • Frederick Mershimer
  • Barry Moser
  • Rolf Nesch
  • Chris Ofili
  • Pablo Picasso
  • Andrew Raftery
  • Rembrandt
  • Edward Stasack
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
  • Kara Walker
  • Mikio Watanabe
  • James McNeill Whistler
Intaglio Printmaking: Drypoint, banner
Drypoint: Intaglio Printmaking

Books Mentioned

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