Printmaking Masterclass

Treat yourself to an immersive full-time program that offers the opportunity to explore various aspects of printmaking and experiment with combinations of techniques, with a particular emphasis on intaglio and relief methods, as well as mixed processes.
This course will open up a new world of image-making through creative experimentation. While we will cover the physical methods of the mediums and the ability to produce multiple or limited edition prints, the primary focus will be on the experimental and visual possibilities that printmaking offers. You’ll have the chance to develop your intellectual, creative, and critical skills through a variety of processes, both in combination and on their own.
Beginners are warmly welcomed to join this class, ensuring that all participants can benefit from the rich exploration of printmaking.



Next available dates


30 May-6 June 2025

14-21 August 2025



BOOKing your class

We offer an all-inclusive package covering tuition, materials, excursions, accommodation, and all meals for a total cost of €1,550.

Before booking, please email us to check availability. Once your place is pre-booked (no deposit required at this stage), it will be reserved for up to one month. After this period, a non-refundable deposit of €300 will be needed to confirm your booking.

PROGRAMME

Day 1

Guests are expected to arrive in the afternoon, any time after 2 pm. Pick up is in Torre de Passeri where coaches from Rome airports stop (check prontobusitalia.it for coach schedules). If arriving by train, the pick up is at the train station in Torre de Passeri (please note that trains from Rome are slow and NOT advisable - if arriving from Rome, just get the bus/coach which will be very convenient and fast).
Meet and greet all participants is at 7:30 pm. A welcome drink awaits you while your tutor Colleen will outline the workshop content by leading a brief introduction to different printmaking methods which shall be explored during the following 6 days.
After a delicious dinner you will start working on ideas as a preparation for your work for the upcoming class.

Day 2

The course starts with an introduction of the art of Monotyping: the most painterly method among printmaking techniques.
There are a number of different ways to approach monotyping, some of which are unique to Colleen's practice and all of which will be explored during this exciting day: additive methods, direct tracing, subtractive methods, using stencils, adding texture and details with found materials as well as using different colors in a gradient or used as transparent layers by modifying the ink's properties.

Day 3

Etching day: after preparing the printing surface by beveling, sandpapering and degreasing, hard ground will be applied and an image can be drawn. After etching and printing the plate it is time to correct possible mistakes; you will will also learn how to add textural effects on your etched plate by applying inks, thus creating a monoprint.

Day 4

We will introduce etched textures by using the soft ground method. This will enable you to print all sorts of materials onto your zinc plate. To add tonal areas to your plate, you will learn how to aquatint your plate. There will be lots of practical demonstrations during this phase and opportunities to try each process. The focus will be on learning and experimenting different techniques allowing you to develop them further beyond this class.

Day 5

The morning will be spent understanding the potential of printmaking using simple materials such as plastic or cardboard, strings and fibers to create a printing plate called collagraph, a kind of glued collage which can be printed intaglio or relief. In the afternoon, a half-day excursion is planned to visit Chieti and its archaeological museum, home to the famous Warrior of Capestrano. After that, we will head to Pescara to visit the Museum of the 19th Century and enjoy a delicious dinner in the historic part of the city.

day 6

We will work on your zinc plate again to learn how to add painterly effects using sugarlift, which is a way of adding brush strokes etched into the plate and printed as black or dark tone. You may also want to modify some parts of your drawing by adding drypoint or burnishing areas you want to modify. Spit bite might be introduced at this stage, depending on the quality of work we want to obtain. In the afternoon we shall start cutting our lino block ready to be printed on the following morning. You will learn about cutting techniques, controlling your tools, mark making as well as printing relief with a baren or a spoon. You will add color with rainbow rolls and finally complete an edition using the reduction print method.

day 7

Morning will be spent working on a reduction linoblock and in the afternoon we will print the collagraph prepared two days earlier. Your collagraph will be printed in different ways and you will learn to understand how to modify the plate each time it is printed.
The rest of the day will be spent finishing your work or finalising an edition. The afternoon ends with a review, reflection and evaluation of the work produced.

day 8

After breakfast, it will be time to say goodbye, taking home new skills and lasting memories from this enriching experience.

BOOKing your class

The all-inclusive package covering tuition, materials, excursions, accommodation, and all meals, costs €1,550.

Before booking, please email us to check availability. Once your place is pre-booked (no deposit required at this stage), it will be reserved for up to one month. After this period, a non-refundable deposit of €300 will be required to confirm your booking.