Sustainable Printmaking. Aquatint

The Workshop

During the workshop we will explore some options to create an aquatint with a more sustainable approach than the traditional one, mainly avoiding the use of rosin. We will engrave copper matrices with ferric perchloride, a saline mordant, protecting the areas not to be engraved with acrylic paint and other products whose performance and sustainability we will analyze. Each participant will work on their own matrix followed step by step by the instructor. We will conclude by printing the matrices on the intaglio press with sustainable inks that do not rely on the use of solvents.

Sustainable Printmaking

Series of 8 lessons on printmaking techniques with a sustainable approach and materials, concluded by a day entirely dedicated to printing methods. An overview of the most recent and innovative research on engraving and printing processes without the use of chemical solvents and toxic materials and with water-washable inks.

This series of workshops, which can be attended individually, is aimed at engravers who wish to make their practice more sustainable and healthy, but also at those who want to approach intaglio engraving with particular attention to health and the environment.

Alessia De Bortoli

After graduation in Printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, she trained in Sustainable Printmaking at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica with Roberta Feoli De Lucia. She obtained the Green Printmaking Certificate from Zea Mays Printmaking, Massachusetts, USA.