Sunday, May 21, 10 AM – 5 PM

with Kevin Pomerleau

This workshop is an introduction to the process of etching and printing an aquatinted plate, a variant of etching that produces areas of tone rather than hard lines. Used properly an aquatint can add texture, depth, or even flat planes of tone to your etching.

Using the Zea Mays Acrylic Aquatint Spray, workshop participants will learn the foundational techniques of adding multiple tones to an etching using a single plate and black ink. Some of the topics covered in this workshop will include how to successfully prepare and apply an aquatint to a copper plate with an airbrush, how to step etch an aquatint to achieve effective tonal variations, how to properly wipe and print an aquatinted plate, and how to troubleshoot unexpected mishaps that may arise from the point that you apply the aquatint to pulling the finished print.

About the Instructor:

Kevin Pomerleau has been involved in printmaking since 2010 when he first stepped into a printmaking studio as an undergraduate at Holyoke Community College. After acquiring a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Kevin completed the Zea Mays printmaking internship and has been involved at the studio ever since. His intaglio prints are in numerous public and private collections.  Kevin works as the Visual Arts Technician Specialist at Smith College, where he oversees their print studio.