Printmaking Practice 2: Mastering Print (10 credit points)

Special Information

This course requires you to bring their own art and design materials. Most of these can be sourced and purchased in advance from any good art material supplier such as the Art Shop at ECA Lauriston Place Campus. Essential items not readily available will be provided during classes and you will be invoiced at the end of the course for items used. Listed below are the materials and equipment requirements for this course and an estimated cost. You are advised not to purchase any materials until you have received confirmation the course is running – usually 7 days before the start of the course.  You will be guided by the tutor as to which materials you need to bring to classes each week.

Essential materials you will need to bring to the first class:

• An apron, drawing materials including an HB pencil and rubber, sketchbook or other reference material                   

Materials and equipment provided for students as part of the course and included in course fee:

• Use of relief and intaglio printmaking studios and printing presses, printing rollers, printing inks and cutting mats

Materials and equipment available for purchase during the course:

A limited supply of tissue paper, newsprint, cartridge paper, tracing paper and suitable intaglio printing paper and zinc plate for etching and drypoint techniques

Essentials materials and equipment students will need to provide themselves:

• Pritt or similar glue stick, a scalpel or sharp cutting blade. Linocut or woodcut tools, lino or mdf wood or similar,  etching needle, appropriate papers and collage materials for relief and intaglio printmaking                                               

Additional recommended materials and equipment students can provide:

• Students are very welcome to bring any materials and equipment that they may consider necessary or would like to work with in the context of printmaking

Content of Course

Over the class sessions the course will cover:

The student will be challenged to examine ways in which their practice and the medium can be extended.

Following inductions to the printing presses and processes the student will be encouraged to experiment with relief and intaglio printmaking techniques and devise a focused personal approach to the medium which allows for the introduction of other materials and processes.

The student will be encouraged to experiment with the use of monochrome and polychrome inks, composition, format and scale and investigate the potential of etching with aquatint, non-etch photopolymer printing, collagraph, monotype and relief techniques .

An examination of the potential for non-standard materials such as found matrices and non-paper substrates for printmaking will be made.

Students will be encouraged to survey and undertake in-depth research of a range of artists who have produced unique bodies of work in the medium of printmaking.

Strategies for developing visual ideas and the potential for combining informed and intuitive responses to outcomes suitable for print works from visual research material will be demonstrated and discussed.

Teaching method(s)

The teaching will be based and delivered in specialist art and design studios or workshops and will typically include a range of practical exercises, introductions to techniques, processes and concepts, and set projects which lead to more focused and personal exploration. Over the course, students’ progress will be monitored and supported by the tutor.  Teaching will include practical demonstrations, one to one tuition, group discussions and critiques.

For work required to be undertaken after the class hours are complete, the course tutor will set students a ‘directed study plan’ which can be undertaken without the need for specialist workshops or access to models.

Directed study will include research into a range of suggested artists and their associated movements to engender a contextual awareness. Students are expected to demonstrate how their research has informed their work through annotated sketchbooks, a visual digital journal and practical outcomes. 

The Directed Study Plan will include preparing evidence of research and practical work to form an appropriate presentation for assessment.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Research, context and ideas (33.3%) Demonstrate an ability and enquiring work ethic, employing a range of personal strategies for documenting and developing visual ideas and concepts, integrating contextual research.

Practice, skills and techniques (33.3%) Show resourcefulness and inventiveness in the use of materials and processes to create an extended range of focused and coherent visual studies and resolved, print- based artworks.

Selection, presentation and reflection (33.3%) Evidence independent judgment in the documentation and presentation of research, selection and editing of visual images to reveal its value.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential Reading

Grabowski, B. and Fick, B., 2009. Printmaking: a complete guide to materials and processes. London: Laurence King.

Suggested Reading

Adam, R. and Robertson, C., 2007. Intaglio: The Complete Safety-First System for Creative Printmaking: Acrylic-Resist Etching, Collagraphy, Engraving, Drypoint, Mezzotint , London: Thames and Hudson.

Journal and periodicals

Printmaking Today

Web Sources

www.printmakingtoday.com

Assessment

Details of the Art and Design assessment requirements can be found on the short course website. Please click on the following link for more information: Submission and Assessment Information

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.