Helen Shafer Garcia – Woven Stitch Collagraph Book

TitleInformation
InstructorHelen Shafer Garcia
Skill LevelAll Levels
Length of Workshop1 day
Date (s)Saturday, June 29, 2024
Cost$175 per day x 1 day + $15 Material Fee
Total Price of Workshop$190

Workshop Description:

We will focus on a unique combination of Collagraph (a form of collage) printmaking, relief block prints, and book structures. Produce printing plates with collage shapes and hot glue to create free flowing designs. Experiment with textures with this unpredictable, intuitive method. The plate designs are very versatile and durable for continued print runs, providing enough prints for two or more books.

Design and carve images with little effort on soft rubber material to create relief block prints. These printed designs will build detail and bold marks on thin papers and cloth that will be adhered to areas in the text block and enhanced with mixed media.

Construct multi-signature book structures with open spine woven stitches, creating a color variation effect on the spine. Adornments will be added with embroidery stitches. The content will include multiple image repeats from the collagraph process. These will be manipulated with watermedia and color pencils to individualize the pages.

Materials/equipment to be provided by students:

  • 3 to 4 sheets printmaking paper- Rives BFK 22 x 30-inch white 250 gsm, Canson Edition, or other brands that have internal sizing and are recommended for printmaking
  • 1 or more round watercolor brushes: #12, #10, or #14
  • 1⁄2-inch wide or larger acrylic brush
  • Acrylic matte medium
  • Watercolors: professional grade pan or personal palette (tube watercolors set in a palette); my full palette is on my blog for color reference
  • 12-inch or larger metal ruler with cork backing
  • 2 book-binding needles – size 18, blunt or sharp
  • Water container
  • Hair dryer or heat gun (can be shared)
  • Bone folder
  • Book arts awl
  • Strips of printed fabric -approx. 15 inches long x 1.4 to 1.5 inches wide- these will be used to decorate the covers
  • Prismacolor Premier, Faber-Castell Polychromos, or Derwent Coloursoft pencils – at least 18 colors

See Materials Glossary for definitions and images

Materials/equipment to be provided by instructor:

  • Golden Open acrylic paint
  • Glue
  • Printing plates
  • Linen threads
  • Embroidery threads
  • Milagros charms
  • Masa paper and retro fabrics to print on 

Instructor Biography:

Helen Shafer Garcia is a painter, mixed media, book arts, ceramics artist, and award winning illustrator. Helen’s watercolor illustrations have graced the cover of brochures, garden articles, and advertisements of numerous international resorts and magazines for more than 35 years. Her works and articles have been published in Southwest Art, Cloth, Paper, Scissors, San Diego Home and Garden Lifestyles, and Studios Magazines. Helen holds a BA degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in illustration and ceramics. She is a signature member of San Diego Watercolor Society and teaches watercolor, book arts, and mixed media workshops internationally and across the US.

Website: www.helenshafergarcia.com

www.agavelatte.blogspot.com