Glossary of Etching
4 March - 18 April 20
REOPENING 2 - 12 SEPTEMBER 20
Gallery open 12- 4pm Wed-Sat.
Opening times subject to change owing to the ongoing Covid-19 situation. Please call ahead of your visit if you are making a special journey.
Please visit this page for details of our safety procedures.
Glossary of Etching is an exhibition of new work by three artists focused on the craft skills of etching.
Specially commissioned by Northern Print to showcase the qualities of the etching process, artists Oliver Hoffmeister, Eunice Routledge and Bronwen Sleigh will present new works as well as documenting the processes involved in their production.
You can purchase Bronwen Sleigh's Glossary of Etching prints here.
Alongside the main exhibition there will be a selection of other etchings by:
Louise Cattrell
Louise Davies
Sarah Duncan
Jo Gorner
Ellen Heck
Katherine Jones
Keith McIntyre
Anja Percival
Sue Stockwell
Alan Turnbull
Each work has been selected to present the range of etching techniques alongside a description of each process. Events and demonstrations make this a ‘must see’ for anyone wanting to know more about etching.
This exhibition has been funded by The Radcliffe Trust.
Glossary of Etching: Events
Sat 7 March 11am-12pm – Collecting Etchings
Free. RSVP to enquiry@northernprint.org.uk appreciated
Do you know your spitbite from your aquatint? Join us for a fascinating Saturday morning event with Northern Print’s Director Anna Wilkinson. This will be an opportunity to view the exhibition as well as a selection of etchings by other artists, see behind-the-scenes in the studio, and gain an understanding of etching and how to collect original prints. Coffee and pastries served.
Thursday 12 March 6-8pm – Northern Print Members Only Evening: Focus on Etching Free. RSVP to enquiry@northernprint.org.uk essential
This special event especially for Northern Print’s studio members will be all about etching. Watch some films about the process, share your etchings and printmaking stories with other members of the group and get a special glimpse of the prints that we hold in our plans chests. This will be a good chance to meet and chat with other members and a great introduction for those who are curious about the process but have yet to try it out as well as those who want to extend their skills or gain some new inspiration. Refreshments will be provided.
Saturday 21 March 2-5pm Print & Patisserie – Etching taster course, £45 (£40.50 members price) Booking Essential, click here to book
This short taster course has been designed to give an experience of the magic of etching. You will learn how to prepare a copper plate and draw a simple design. Our studio printmaker will then etch this in acid whilst you enjoy coffee and cake at neighbouring Dreamworld Cakes. You can then return to learn how to print your etching on our etching press and produce a small print to take home.
POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE due to Covid19
Saturday 28 March– Glossary of Etching: Printmaking Demonstrations
Free – drop-in
Bronwen Sleigh and Eunice Routledge are two of the three artists who have been commissioned to produce new works in etching for our upcoming exhibition Glossary of Etching. We are pleased to say that both artists will be doing printing demonstrations on 28 March at Northern Print.
Bronwen Sleigh Demonstration 11am-1pm
Glasgow-based Bronwen Sleigh will be demonstrating how she creates her beautiful etchings. Bronwen will be using two different plates to make a print so it’s a good opportunity to learn about the use of colour and registration. Speak with the artist about her work and browse through a wider selection of her prints which are not part of the exhibition.
Eunice Routledge Demonstration 2-4pm
County Durham-based Eunice Routledge has been making prints for many years. The stunning prints that she has created for the Glossary of Etching exhibition are intricate with very fine detail. For one of her prints, Eunice has etched over 200 individually shaped plates which have then inked up one-by-one and placed in position on the press bed before being printed. In another piece on show, she has printed finely etched plates on to Japanese paper which has been torn into shaped long strips and then woven together to produce the final work. Come along and speak to the artist about her work and find out how she prints her intricate pieces.
Thursdays 16, 23, 30 April & 7, 14 & 21 May 6-8.30pm. Introduction to Etching Course £210 (£189 members price) Booking essential, click here to book
Tutors: Helen Donley, Alex McIntosh and Eunice Routledge
If you have been inspired by the exhibition and want to gain a basic understanding of several different approaches to etching then this six-evening course may be for you?
You will be taken through various techniques which produce different printed results, from fine lines, hand drawn marks to painterly washes.
All the techniques involve creating an image on to a metal plate; this can be done by hand or by transfer methods. The image is then etched into the metal, inked up and printed using an etching press.
During the sessions you will learn how to prepare the plates and paper, transfer your images and use acids to etch the designs into the metal. You will then be guided through how to ink up the plate and use a press to make prints using specialist printmaking papers.