Abigail Merickel – Solar Plate Etching and Monotype

Workshop Description:

Solar plate etching is a form of intaglio in which a photosensitive polymer plate is used. A drawing on trace film is placed on the plate which is exposed to light and developed in water. Ink is rubbed into the etched lines and printed onto paper. With monotype, colored inks are applied by brush and brayer on a plexiglass plate. Students will experiment freely with both techniques singly and in combination to achieve interesting hand-pulled prints. Students will create a line and tonal drawing, etch the drawing onto the solar plate, and print an edition on an antique press experimenting with the addition of colored inks (monotype) and decorative papers (chine colle).

Materials/equipment to be provided by students:

• Apron
• Sharpies
• Drawings
• Uniball pens
• Small paint brushes 

See Materials Glossary for definitions and images

Materials/equipment to be provided by instructor:

• Akua soy-based printing inks
• Sumi or India ink
• Lithograph crayons
• Mylar
• Transparent acetate
• Solar plate exposure unit
• Antique printing press
• Aquatint screen
• Vats
• Printmaking paper
• Decorative papers for chine colle
• Plexiglass plates for monotype
• Solar plates

Instructor Biography:

Abigail Merickel lives in Oregon and Oaxaca, Mexico. As a printmaker, she experiments with the following techniques: monotype, collagraph, relief, intaglio and lithograph. She has a degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Italy and a Masters in Teaching from George Fox University, Newburg, Oregon. She conceived of, curated, and received an Oregon Cultural Trust grant for her project: Consciousness: Contemporary Printmaking in Oaxaca at the Rufino Tamayo Studio, three exhibitions and art catalog (2020-2021). She has worked as a teaching artist in public schools in Oregon for more than twenty-five years.

Website: www.abigailmerickel.com