In this workshop you will explore one form of Drypoint. A Drypoint is a printmaking process in which a design is drawn on a plate with a sharp, pointed needle-like instrument. An intaglio technique, drypoint is usually done on copper plates as the softer metal lends itself to this technique. (Intaglio refers to any
printmaking process which involves making incisions or indents in a plate, so when the ink is applied and then wiped off, ink remains caught in the incisions and creates the image).

We will be using perspex which produces some subtle and delicate results that can be precise as well as  expressive. The process of incising for drypoint creates a slightly raised ragged rough edge to the lines,
known as the burr. When ink that has been applied to the plate is wiped off both the incised line and specifically the burr receive ink when the plate is wiped, giving the printed line a distinctive velvety look. Owing to the delicate nature of the burr, drypoint is usually made in small editions, stopping
before the burr is crushed by the pressure of the intaglio press.

Please bring an apron and rubber gloves to protect clothes and hands.

What you will learn:
• How to create expressive lines into a perspex plate
• How to create tone and texture on a perspex plate
• How to print from a drypoint plate

Your Tutor: Alex Jakob-Whitworth
Alex has been a painter printmaker since studying Fine Art at Leeds University where her final show was mainly etching. Although her practice encompasses a wide variety of media, printmaking remains her first love, as she enjoys the magic of the mechanical process that culminates in the ‘reveal’. Her
work is focused on landscape, and the horse.
She finds the possibilities in these as a metaphor for the human condition and our relationship with our environment endless – but also because they are beautiful in all their forms.

www.alexjakobwhitworth.co.uk
@alexjw28arts
Alex Jakob-Whitworth is a member of Cumbria Printmakers
www.cumbriaprintmakers.co.uk