27 April 2014

Non-Toxic Printmaking Workshop, 10 May, Kerikeri

There are still a few places are left if you are interested in a 1-day Non Toxic Printmaking Workshop
from 10am-4pm on Saturday 10 May at Wharepuke Print Studio in Kerikeri.


Taught by Mark Graver, MA Printmaking (Camberwell College of Arts, London),
 author of the A&C Black Handbook Non-Toxic Printmaking 
and founder of the Wharepuke Print Studio.  

The workshop will cover acrylic resist etching with copper or aluminium. You can decide on the day.  
Non-toxic, acrylic resist etching uses no harmful acids or solvents, the inks are water based, 
resists are acrylic co-polymers and etching takes place in metal salt solutions.


This course will cover plate preparation, applying resists, etching with metal salt solutions, 
safely removing resists, as well as inking and printing with Akua water-based inks.  
No experience necessary and all materials will be provided, including tea and coffee.  
You might want to bring your own lunch, but there is also a cafe on site.

Cost for the workshop is $130.
To book or for further information please email info@nontoxic-printmaking.co.nz

21 April 2014

Studio Visit: AUT University Print Workshop

I just finished working at AUT University's School of Art & Design,
so thought I'd better give you a guided tour of their Print Workshop.

This specialist facility for Print is accessible by all Art & Design students at AUT (over 1000 of them!),
but is predominantly used by Graphics (now called Communication Design), 
as well as Fashion & Textile Design students, and some from Visual Arts,
ranging from undergraduate to post-graduate.

Panorama view of AUT Print Workshop from entrance doors, April 2014
L: Office, Prep Island (front), computer, sample drawers, relief & intaglio printing area
R: screenprint area (vacuum tables in front)

The Print Workshops are on the 7th floor (with inner-city views), and consist of 3 separate rooms; 
The main large workshop caters for screenprinting as well as relief & intaglio printing.
There is another large workshop space for etching and all the letterpress equipment.
A smaller room across the hall contains lithography workshop.

AUT Print Workshop April 2014: Relief  Printing Area

The Relief & Intaglio Printing Area is half the main studio.
There are 4 glass-top tables 1.2 x 2.4m each & glass-topped benches.
These make cleaning up much easier!
Each table is equipped with a printmaking press and movable drying rack,
so this area can comfortably accommodate up to 16 students when teaching workshops.

There is an 'island' dedicated to paper preparation: storage and cutting. 
I used the vinyl cutter to improve signage and make the most of wall space,
such as hanging inks (using coloured clips) and silhouettes of rollers (to easily see what's missing!)



The other half of the main Print Workshop is dedicated to screenprinting.
An additional 4 glass-top tables 1.2 x 2.4m each & glass-topped benches on this side
enables students to work independently on screen processes.
Next to the washout sinks, there is a door that leads to 3 small rooms;
a room for waterblasting and applying screen chemicals,
an exposure room for the UV light and tilt-frame exposure unit,
and a room for applying and drying photo-sensitive screen emulsion.

The photo below shows this space set up for a fabric printing workshop, 
with removable padded fabric boards on top of the tables.
This area can also accommodate up to 16 students when teaching workshops.


I also implemented a screenprint ink-mixing area, one side for paper inks, the other for fabric inks.
Plastic spatulas may be stained by dyes, but means less wastage and are cheap to replace (50c each).
Due to limited airflow, preference is given to non-toxic eco-friendly water-based products whenever possible.
For fabric printing, dye concentrates are mixed with a clear water-based print paste to make any colour.
Accurate scales are used to measure recipes, making this much more economical than buying pre-mixed. 

There is a 4-colour carousel, which students use mainly for printing t-shirts.
A vinyl cutter and a heat press, used for transfers and heat-press vinyl on t-shirts and textiles.
Hairdryers are stored on the wall to save bench space (I made these holders from recycled tubes!)



AUT Print Workshop has a large selection of squeegees for students to use.
There are 4 of these holders; one rack for polyurethane squeegees, and 3 in various widths for rubber ones.
These holders are useful for storage and drying, as they ensure blades are not dented.
In fact, AUT even has a special squeegee sharpening grinder (sorry I forgot to get a photo of it!)
There are also of these 10 vacuum tables which are ideal for printing artworks or posters on paper.

 

Here is a simple handy tip for those of you who want to set up a screenprint area at home or school:
Find an old board, benchtop or table top that has a very smooth surface.
Screw or bolt on some screen clamps (permanent or removable) 
so the screen doesn't move while you are printing and to help with registration of multiples.
A block of wood with the end cut at 45 degrees will hold your screen up while changing paper.

 

AUT Print Workshop has 4 of these wash-out units pictured below; 
one is in a room for the waterblaster & chemicals,
but there are 3 in the main Printmaking Workshop for cleaning screens and squeegees.
These units have a perspex screen on the front which are hinged to open upwards,
useful for reducing noise and lessening splash-back, which is great for beginners!

 

 In a separate room down the hallway, there is a lithography workshop.
Although not used often, it is well-equipped with 2 large litho presses and stones.


 Across the hallway, there is another room which houses both letterpress and etching.
It contains an acid cabinet, paper storage and a soaking sink, 
an antique metal guillotine and 2 large etching presses.
AUT Print Workshop also has a Farley and and electric Korrex letterpress machine 
There is a selection of metal type for students to learn the art of typesetting,
and exposure unit for making polymer plates for letterpress,
or students can access the laser cutting equipment to cut their own type and/or shapes
(often using 3mm wood or perspex which is adhered to a backing board).



In the hallway there is also this beautiful old press,
which I was told was used to print the first postage stamps in New Zealand!


 As you can see, it is a very spacious and well-equipped (and much coveted) printmaking space.
Unfortunately it is not available for public use, and there are no short courses.
Has this made any of you printmakers a little green with envy?!
What do you think???

13 April 2014

Goldfields Printmakers, 16Apr-25May, Kerikeri

Art at Wharepuke presents The Goldfields Printmakers 'Borders and Crossings'
16 April until 25 May, with an opening event on Wednesday 16 April from 5-7pm
Contributing artists James Pasakos and Anne Langdon will be attending the opening event.


The Goldfields Printmakers is an exciting new group of artists
living in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia, who predominantly work in field of printmaking.

James Pasakos (a Printmaking lecturer at the Federation University of Australia, Ballarat)
was a co-founder of the group.
"This group was born from an idea; a eureka moment that I had 
whilst participating in the IMPACT 7 international printmaking conference in Melbourne in 2011. 
My concept was to bring together printmakers from the historic and significant Goldfields region and 
to provide a portal through which dialogue and diversity can evolve in a supportive and enriching environment".


The exhibition was first displayed at the Art Gallery of Ballarat May to July 2013,
and in August 2013 travelled to Dundee, Scotland, for IMPACT 8.
Having crossed and re-crossed borders,
Art at Wharepuke is pleased to now present the show to a New Zealand audience.

12 April 2014

Kelvin Mann & Michele Bryant, 16Apr-24May, Wellington

Solander Gallery in Wellington is hosting an exhibition of works by Kelvin Mann & Michele Bryant
from 16 April through to 24 May

Alphabet, by Kelvin Mann
"As a child I have memories of hand painted signs and font books around my fathers signwriting workshop. Some years ago I was working on a series of drawings and illustrated drop caps 
based on Oscar Wilde’s fairytales.
After the birth of our first child I framed one of the drop caps for his bedroom. 
More drawings resulted from the births of close friend’s children 
and the idea of an illustrated alphabet was formed. 
This proved to be a fairly daunting task as there is no escaping the fact that there are 26 letters 
and at least one xylophone."

Kelvin Mann, O is for Owl and Oak Tree, 2013
Etching

Long View, by Michele Bryant
"Long View is grounded in ideas around decision making 
but also with thinking about the longer future, 
in terms of family links and the environment."

Michele Bryant, 08 Tukituki, 2014
Woodcut
For more information, see click here for Solander Gallery's website

10 April 2014

Devil In The Detail, 14-26Apr, Hawera

DEVIL IN THE DETAIL
An exhibition of 2D and 3D prints by Central Print Council Members
14-26 April - Opening on Saturday 12 April at 4:30 pm.
Lysaght Watt Gallery, 4-6 Union Street, Hawera




09 April 2014

Taha, 11 April, Whanganui

Upcoming is the opening for 'Taha' exhibition 
5.30pm Friday 11 April at Whanganui Regional Museum,
including the legendary NZ Printmaker Marty Vreede.


The gourd is one of the earliest known cultivated plants, 
grown and used by people in every inhabited part of the Earth. 
The hue, or gourd, was the first cultivated plant grown in Aotearoa when Māori settled this land. 
The seeds of the hue were brought from the Pacific Islands, along with other important plants.

Tahā, containers made from hue, were used as water vessels and for preserving food. 
They were essential for survival on the long ocean voyage to Aotearoa. 
Hue were traditionally used as fishing floats on nets, and as flotation aids in swimming. 
Hue are also used for a range of traditional Māori musical instruments.

08 April 2014

Marci Tackett, 11Apr-3May, Wellington

Marci Tackett's exhibition RIP  is opening on Thursday 10 April from 5:30-7pm
 at Toi Poneke Gallery in Welington.

There is an Artist Talk at 2pm on 13 April.
It will be on display until 3 May.


06 April 2014

Annie Smits Sandano, 10April, Wellington

Annie Smits Sandano's latest exhibition Full Spectrum 
opens on 10 April at Ora Gallery in Wellington.
All new originals and one-off prints!


Remember also that Annie is teaching a BIG WORKS Relief workshop this weekend.
You can register with Artsight: www.artsight.co.nz


05 April 2014

Mark Graver, 10Apr-6May, Morrinsville

Mark Graver's exhibition Umbra Sumus will be shown at James Wallace Gallery in Morrinsville. 
Opening on Wednesday 9 April 6-7:30pm, the exhibition runs until 6 May.

Mark Graver, from the Umbra Sumas series
Etching

Mark Graver, from the Umbra Sumas series
Etching

Taken from a quote by Horace Pulvis et umbra sumus (we are but dust and shadow) 
Umbra Sumus is an ongoing project begun in 2013.  
The work is partly a response to the death of my father in January 2011,
and to the universality of passing time.

Containing and connecting photography, printmaking, video and sound 
the main body of the project is made up of photo-polymer and acrylic resist etchings each 200x200mm. 
Video and sound works complement the prints.

Mark Graver, from the Umbra Sumas series
Etching

Mark Graver, from the Umbra Sumas series
Etching
To see more about the ongoing project, and all the images,
see www.markgraver.com/umbra-sumus