Visit with Dan Welden, Developer of Solarplate Etching

Dan Welden at WPG

On Dec. 3,  eleven WPG members and two guests gathered at the Washington Printmakers Gallery in Georgetown to hear a talk by Dan Welden, the inventor of Solarplate Etching, an innovative and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing. Dan was in town to teach a weekend workshop at Pyramid Atlantic–luckily he had time in his schedule to provide us with a private “mini lecture” in Georgetown. Dan gave a fine, generous and informative talk about the new and improved Solarplate product, and showed two portfolios: one a collection of about 20 artists working with Solarplate, and another portfolio of his own work. The works were vibrant and varied. Some prints were extremely photographic and monochrome and others loose, abstract and colorful.

Pauline Jakobsberg’s plate

Two members of WPG, Pauline Jakobsberg and Marion Osher, attended the workshop on Friday and Saturday, which allowed them to become familiar with the new plates and methods. On Friday, Dan demonstrated some techniques such as using a grease pencil on glass, which transfers to a solar plate, and results in an image resembling a lithograph. Saturday the class participated in a “loosening up” exercise on the plate which turned into a beautiful print by the end of the day. Pauline and Marion observed that there are many approaches to using the plates and much more to learn.

Pauline’s print from solarplate

Dan will be teaching at Provincetown, MA and Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY this summer. For more information about solarplate intaglio, please visit: www.solarplate.com

Dan has also offered WPG members a show in Long Island along with preparation for a portfolio for which he could give assistance in plate developing and printing in his nearby studio. We look forward to this exciting opportunity!

 

Reception Photos (Part 2): Celebrating Our South African Voices Exhibition

On Saturday, January 11, WPG hosted a well-attended exhibition reception for our current show, South African Voices: A New Generation of Printmakers. During this event, guests surveyed prints by the nearly 40 emerging artists who contributed to the exhibition. Below, you will find our second set of several photos from this reception. There are three days left for this exhibition, so make sure you come by the gallery to take a look (if you haven’t already)!

Another view of the South African Voices exhibition marquee and some prints included in the show.

Vula Amehlo Executive Director Anne Gordon (left) with artist Cynthia Farrell Johnson.

South African Voices: A New Generation of Printmakers | Jan. 11 Exhibition Reception

Kate Maynor, Chief Paper Conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (left), and Amy Alderfer (right).

WPG member Rosemary Cooley admires a South African Voices print by John Taouss Tuyisabe.

South African Voices: A New Generation of Printmakers | Jan. 11 Exhibition Reception

Anne Gordon, Executive Director of Vula Amehlo Art Development (far left), provides a tour of the exhibition to South African Ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool (second from left); to Ambassador Rasool’s wife Roseida Shabodien (third from left); and to Christine Mullen Kreamer, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (far right).

Reception Photos (Part 1): Celebrating Our South African Voices Exhibition

On Saturday, January 11, WPG hosted a well-attended exhibition reception for our current show, South African Voices: A New Generation of Printmakers. During this event, guests surveyed prints by the nearly 40 emerging artists who contributed to the exhibition. Below, you will find several photos from this reception, with more to come on Friday. This is the final week for the exhibit, so make sure you come by the gallery to take a look (if you haven’t already)!

A view of the South African Voices exhibition marquee and some prints included in the show.

Anne Gordon, Executive Director of Vula Amehlo Art Development (far left), pictured with South African Ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool (second from left); Ambassador Rasool’s wife Roseida Shabodien (third from left); and WPG member artist Rosemary Cooley (far right).

Two prints by South African Voices exhibition artist Phillip Mabote.

Nando’s Peri Peri of Silver Spring very graciously donated the delicious food that exhibition guests enjoyed during the afternoon.

Christine Mullen Kreamer, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (far left), along with WPG member artist Rosemary Cooley (center); and WPG Director Damon Arhos (far right).

Dr. Raoul (far left) and Judy (far right) Wientzen with Cecilia Rossey (center).

A welcoming atmosphere accentuated by vibrant flowers and textiles.

Show Pics: Extraktions and more

Wow!  Ron really pulled out all the stops with his first solo show as a WPG member!  He has sculpture, monoprints, and sculpted monoprints of all different shapes and sizes.  If that wasn’t enough, we also have The Listening Room-Refugee Art Project installed in the Press Room this month.  We hope the images below entice you to come to the opening reception, this Saturday, 1-4 pm.

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‘Tis the season for…Spring Classes!

We’ve been inundated with emails and more about all the spring printmaking classes now being offered.  Has this weather got your creativity blooming?  We’ve got organizations offering print and paper classes in your area:

Pyramid Atlantic–of course we’ll start off with our favorite art center right down stairs! Check out classes in letterpress, silkscreen, papermaking and more!

Lower East Side Print Shop-Are you in the New York area?  Check out the printmaking courses being offered this spring/summer by the Lower East Side Print Shop!

Santa Cruz Art League–if you’re looking for a painting or drawing course on the west coast, check out their course catalog for anything from figure drawing to landscape pastels.

Chicago Printmaking Collaborative–Congratulations to this group for expanding their course offerings-including a new course on lithography that’s been reinstated after years of absence.  We hope they continue to grow!

Cat Tail Run Bookbinding-This Winchester, VA group has two marbling classes coming up in June that look pretty fun!

Saturday Slideshow: April Exhibitions

Check out the work by Pyramid Atlantic Member artists as well as WPG member artists!  Opening Reception today 2-4 pm.  We suggest parking in the (free!) municipal parking garage one block south of us on Silver Spring Avenue–it’s going to be a busy day!  Enjoy the pictures and see you this afternoon!

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Another large prints video

Check out Chinese artist/printmaker Qin Feng working on a huge matrix at Pace Prints in this video.  You can see more of his work at Pace Prints.  Enjoy!

Study Papermaking in Fabriano

It’s time to sign up for Pyramid Atlantic’s “Paper, Print, and Book,” an international arts adventure and study art making in the tradition of the Italians.  This two-week course (June 18-July 3) lead by artist Lynn Sures focuses on:

• Studying Papermaking, including line and chiaroscuro watermarks, with master papermaker Luigi Mecella in the Museum of Paper and Watermark papermill;
• Learning traditional Italian Bookbinding in the museum’s bindery with master bookbinder Giuseppe Baldinelli;
• Mastering printmaking techniques offered by Roberto Stelluti, celebrated local etcher represented in the collection of the Uffizi in Florence, in his own exceptional studio.

There is limited space on this trip, and the deadline for signing up is April 1.  Cost is $3,000, which includes tuition and most materials, hotel with full breakfast in the historic center, transportation on most field trips. (It does not include roundtrip transportation from the US to Fabriano or Rome, or travel insurance.)  Interested in going or need more information?  Contact Jose at jdominguez (at) pyramid-atlantic (dot) org.

More from Max-Karl Winkler

A few thoughts from the artist about several of his prints, currently up in this month’s exhibition, Max & Ed:

“Nest” by Max-Karl Winkler

Landscape, Figure, Portrait, Still Life: this is the classic quartet of artists’ concerns, and I seem to be one of those who are gratified by the visual occurrences of every day. (I want to say “inspired” instead of “gratified,” but “inspired” has become a terribly baggagey word.) This show includes prints from each of those categories, some of them supported by the sketches, drawings, or watercolors that preceded them. As an artist, teacher, and art enthusiast, I enjoy a show that provides a background or a trace of the artist’s mind at work, and I hope that these antecedents will serve as a means of comparison and contrast for visitors to the show.

Nest (pictured above) came from a drawing of a bird’s nest that rests on a table in our living room, a thing I’ve intended to draw for a year or more. To some degree, this print was an exercise in using gouges and veiners of different calibers. I was interested in the way that the strokes of the tools can be seen as both patterns and as descriptions.

“Before Sunrise, Gull Lake” by Max-Karl Winkler

Before Sunrise, Gull Lake is a print that came from a visit to my wife’s aunt, who lives on Gull Lake in southwestern Michigan. Sitting early in the morning at her dining table, I have spent hours looking out at the always changing light on the lake. On the last morning of our visit, I was struck by the bright white of the sky and the lake, while the near shore and the farther shore were no more than silhouettes; so I made a drawing of what I saw, with the intention of translating that image into a print at some future time, and perhaps a color print, and perhaps even a painting.

Woman Washing Her Hair, oddly enough, had its origin in my figure drawing classes. At some point in the last few years, I’ve been interested in what happens in those classes when the model completes

“Woman Washing Her Hair” by Max-Karl Winkler

the half-hour pose: there’s an immediate relaxation, accompanied by an un-self-consciousness, that are never present in the pose itself, which always requires some level of concentration, discipline, and self-awareness. I have made a number of sketches and studies–and eventually woodcuts–that I’ve titled The Model Takes a Break. In some way I don’t completely understand, Woman Washing Her Hair shoehorned herself into (or alongside) this series. In some way the print is related to a number of pictures of a woman with arms raised–binding her hair, washing her hair, running her hands through her hair–that is both graceful and profoundly feminine. This gesture was a recurring theme of Picasso’s work, and of Degas’; I’m in good company. The original drawing for this print did not include the mirror and the reflection of the hands. When I added that upper part to the drawing, I deliberately made the hands not a mirror image of the woman’s hands–don’t ask me why–and I feel that the print is compositionally improved by that decision.

Why I Love Prints V

“Arabesque” by Matina Marki Tillman

Matina Marki Tillman shares why she loves printmaking:

Surely, there are plenty of printmaking elements that I have grown to realize and value in my seven years of dealing with hand-pulled prints. I’ll mention the two main ones. First, their undoubtable “democratic” nature (since they are available to more than one art collector / lover). Secondly, the varied editions that allow me to discover a new original every time that I pull a print from the press.

Through variation in printmaking, I have the joy to explore my subject; to comprehend it better as I progress the edition. Variation can include subtle changes of ink and paper, or others like hand coloring, mixing multiple techniques, or doing anything else imaginative. Coming from the world of drawing, I’m finding this experimentation liberating, since it gives me the chance, when I need or want, to go further than the definite and lonely uniqueness of a sole drawing.