WORKSHOP: Intermediate Polymer Photogravure Printmaking

Intermediate Polymer Photogravure Printmaking
Faculty: Ray Bidegain
April 13 – 14, 2024 | Saturday – Sunday 12:30-5:30pm
$500 (All materials included; Note, due to the special nature of materials required for this workshop, it is not eligible for discounts)

One of the beautiful aspects of printmaking is the wide variety of methods the artist has to change the look and feel of the objects at hand. Join Master Printer Ray Bidegain for this intermediate photogravure workshop, during which we will review the methods learned in the introductory session including plate making and printing. Students will be able to make more prints from the plates they have made as well as make new ones. Together we will explore some options available to the photogravure printmaker including:

• Chine Collé (permanently affixing delicate papers to your paper for added depth and color). We will use Japanese Washi papers, which are both strong and delicate at the same time.
• Printing with multiple plates in registration to combine images and ideas.
• A la poupée – Add selective ‘color’ your prints with multiple colors. This method allows you add different shades to one plate, rather than using multiple plates to achieve a similar outcome.
• Printing diptychs or triptychs.
• printing on alternative paper stocks.

All needed materials will be supplied and participants will leave the session with a small edition of photogravure prints from several images. Completion of the introductory Working with Polymer Plate Photogravure workshop required to join this intermediate workshop.

INSTRUCTOR BIO
Ray Bidegain was born in Tucson, Arizona and started studying photography in high school. At age 17 he began working on weekends for a large studio that offered wedding photography to the local community in Southern Arizona. Ray graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in 1981 and returned to Tucson to operate his own studio before moving to Portland, Oregon. After 17 years as a studio portrait photographer, Ray turned to fine art photography, eventually teaching himself the art of platinum printing, photogravure and, later, wet plate collodion. Fascinated by both the science and the art of photography and printmaking, Ray is an engaging and respected photo instructor throughout the Pacific Northwest. Ray’s photographs are internationally collected, and his work has been exhibited across the United States, and in France, Germany, and Scotland.

Images © Ray Bidegain