Andrew Baldwin | A comprehensive course in BIG etching

6 Places Only

£130 Full/Keyholder Member | £150 Ordinary Member | £170 Non-Member

BIG Safe Etching at SPW offers the printmaker a safer alternative in etching with the same level of creative opportunities as traditional materials without exposure to hazardous chemicals. For the beginner, BIG provides an accessible process for spontaneous and diverse mark-making. For the experienced printmaker, BIG provides a medium for consistent, excellent results.

This is a comprehensive introduction to the etching process and will include hard ground, soft ground, aquatint techniques using BIG grounds.

Baldwin’s Ink Ground (BIG) a Safer Alternative Etching Ground
There are many alternatives to the traditional etching ground on the market, many of which advertise themselves as the safer alternative. This may be the case but from my experience this is often to the detriment of quality and practicality. This common problem has put many printmakers off from trying alternatives, preferring to stay with the reliable time honoured system. Did you know that a traditional etching ground contains arsenic, lead, mercury to name but a few toxic elements which can not only be breathed in through your airways but also absorbed through your skin. With ‘Big’ I feel I have not only provided a non toxic alternative but also a ground which is far more versatile. Because the main constituent is an ink it allows the artist printmaker to experiment with many different effects on their etching plate. Techniques ranging from soft and hard ground, photo etching, marbling, relief etching, sandpaper aquatints and coffee lift are but a few which can be explored. Big has been used at the School of Art University of Aberystwyth since 2002 and has been adopted in many other private and educational print workshops around the world.

You may also like the following events from Swansea Print Workshop:

• This Friday, 20th June, 10:30 am, Sarah Hopkins | Screenprinting from Photographic Transparencies in Swansea
• Next month, 4th July, 10:00 am, Drypoint with Chine Collé Mini Prints - Sian Barlow in Swansea
• Next month, 13th July, 10:00 am, Linocut with Nathalie Stone in Swansea

Also check out other Workshops in Swansea, Arts events in Swansea.