Drypoint from the Landscape - Brian D. Cohen

July 26-27, 2008
2-day workshop, limited to 10 participants
Tuition: $300
Application Form

Participants will complete an edition of prints from metal plates worked entirely without acids, using a traditional technique called drypoint. In drypoint, a student draws directly on a metal plate, creating lines and textures that will hold ink when printed. The drypoint medium is a wonderful means of making a drawing directly from observation into a print, without toxic chemicals or technical obstacles. The softness, variety, and warmth of the drypoint line is uniquely expressive among all printmaking media. The class may further explore traditional means of altering the metal surface, such as roulette and engraving, and further explore materials to roughen the plate not usually associated with intaglio (metal plate prints), such as sandpaper, sandblasting, stamping, and hammering. Participants will also learn to lighten areas of the plate with the scraper and burnisher. The starting point for our imagery in this class will be the surrounding landscape, though participants will continue to develop their plates in the studio, printing frequently to assess the development of the image. The class will also emphasize the skills of hand-wiping a plate before printing, and will explore variations in color and collage printing.

faculty

Brian is a printmaker and founder of Bridge Press publisher of limited edition artist's books, broadsides, and etchings, in Westminster Station. He graduated magna cum laude with high honors from Haverford College and completed his Master's degree in Painting at the University of Washington. Brian has shown in more than 20 individual exhibitions, including a retrospective in 1997 at the Fresno Art Museum, and has participated in over 150 group shows. Cohen's books and etchings are held by major private and public collections throughout the country, including Yale, Harvard, Brown, and Stanford Universities, Middlebury, Smith, Wellesley, Swarthmore, and Dartmouth Colleges, as well as The New York Public Library and The Library of Congress. Cohen's teaching experience has included classes and workshops at Marlboro College, Plymouth State College (New Hampshire), Johnson State College, The Putney School, Community College of Vermont, Norwich University, St. Michael's College, and The University of the Arts. He was the founding director of The Putney School Summer Programs from 1987 until 2001, and was the founding artistic director of the Two Rivers Printmaking Studio in White River Junction, Vermont. He has been a faculty member at The Putney School since 1985.