Two-day workshop with Ken Paul
June 24 & 25, 2017
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
$90 plus $30 materials fee
(WhitPrint members: $81 plus $30 for materials)
About The Workshop
Waterless lithography is an important recent development in planographic printmaking (i.e., from a flat surface). It dispels the need for grinding and transporting bulky limestone slabs, using acids, carborundum, asphaltum and other traditional materials, and can be printed in a regular intaglio press rather than a specialized litho press. Many non-traditional materials can be used in the process. Printing is relatively quick and uncomplicated, so it's highly adaptable for the individual printmaker in his/her private studio.
In this two-day workshop, we will use ball-grained aluminum plates with a variety of marking methods.
Day 1
Basic principles of the medium demonstrated; participants will do a test plate to experience these materials for themselves—toner washes, rubbings, Sharpie markers, and possibly other materials they may be curious about. Then, on a second plate, they'll be able to execute their own original images, and if desired, print a small edition. (Plates can be saved for re-printing later.) If desired, participants can take a new plate home and work on new images for printing the next day.
Day 2
More open-ended—experimenting with variations in printing, such as color printing, using different kinds of ink, stencils, adding fine 'engraved' lines to an image, spray paint, adding watercolor, and so on. If time and circumstance permit, we can also try alternative plate materials such as plexiglass, commercial aluminum, use of water-based drawing materials, etc. Some would need special preparation, so we can just play with them. (As Edison testified, things that don't work are just as instructive as things that do.)
This experience should hopefully kindle people's curiosity to play with other variations in their home studios—perhaps mixing waterless litho with monotype, silkscreen, woodcut, etc. Once the basic principle of silicone's ability to reject ink is grasped, all kinds of variations are possible in plate materials and other aspects of the process.
All tools and materials will be supplied, including plates, drawing materials, and paper. Extra paper for larger editions may be purchased at the studio.
Reserving Your Spot
Register and pay in full to reserve your spot in the workshop. To cancel a workshop enrollment, please email studio@whitprint.com. You'll get a full refund if your request is received at least 10 days before the start of the workshop, or a 50% refund if it is received at least 3 days before the start.
About The Instructor
Ken Paul is a printmaker and educator whose biography includes:
- MA in Art, University of Wyoming, 1965
- Lived in Australia in late 1960s, taught at South Australian School of Art.
- Assoc. Prof. Emeritus, printmaking, U of OR 1970-2003
- Represented in collections of Portland Art Museum, Coos Art Museum, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of Tasmania, University of Adelaide, Whitman College, Ucross Foundation, Cheney Cowles Museum (Spokane) and many more.
- 35 solo shows: USA, Australia, Canada (last one: White Box Gallery, Portland, 2016)
- 2017 recipient Distinguished Printmaking Educator award, Southern Graphics Council conference, Portland
For me, artmaking is nearly indistinguishable from dreaming. Both emanate from the Unconscious. Neither can be completely controlled. No two creative situations are the same, so I usually start work with little or no idea about what's going to happen. I rarely plan a work—I’m not good at planning. Printmaking is the perfect vehicle for somebody like me: there are so many possibilities that it's easy to stay humble, and just to follow where the creative journey takes me. My main creative driver has always been: curiosity. Therefore, for good or ill, my work seems to lack a “brand”, although some people tell me that they can spot "a Ken Paul” when they see one. I think it was Matisse who said “The eye likes to be surprised.” Paul Klee remarked that art doesn't reproduce the visible, but it MAKES visible. I resonate with both of those.