This workshop is an introduction to two of the most foundational and versatile processes in etching: hardground and aquatint. Hardground etching is the most basic method of creating a line drawing in a metal plate, and aquatint is a way to add tonality onto the plate. An aquatinted plate can add texture, depth and tone to an etching.

In this 2-day workshop students will learn to prepare a copper plate, apply the ground, draw into it and etch the plate. Once the plate is etched and we’ve pulled a print from it on the press, we will work back into the plate by applying the Zea Mays acrylic aquatint spray. This airbrushed spray will allow students to add variations in tone and texture to their images through a step etching process.

Come begin your etching journey and marvel in the uniquely crisp printed line you get from a hardground etching and the vast variation in tones that can be added onto a single plate with aquatint!

Maya Malachowski Bajak is a Peruvian American artist living and working in Leeds, MA. Using different methodologies of research, from texts to fieldwork, Maya produces drawings, prints, zines and sculptures that embody her investigations into the relationships between humans and their environment.