2008 Annual Workshop

"...one of the best U.S. retreats" -U.S. News & World Report Special Report 50 Ways to Improve Your Life in 2006 December 26, 2005 – January 2, 2006

A wonderful venue and a wonderful workshop!  Thanks to all, especially the Santa Barbara Seven (you know who you are).

We had a rich offering of individual classes for the 2008 workshop. The committee's goal was to offer classes in technique as well as background and color for fish, plant, and other nature printers. We also looked for various printing methods beyond hand rubbing and burnishing which do not require heavy press pressure.

1. Hebe Bartz Nature Printing on Precious Metal  
Making a mold, if required, from the desired object, shaping the precious metal clay, firing, and finishing. 

2. Fred Mullett The Expanded Dancing Rubber Fish  
Using colored embossing powders, Fred last presented this class at a workshop for us at Charleston, Oregon. This is a class for those of us looking for color theory with beautiful results.

3. Sharron Huffman Direct Relief Printing of Octopuses 
Sharon used small Thai octopuses and octopuses for this workshop, printing on both fabric and paper with water-based inks. The inks are applied to the subject with brayers, foam brushes, and daubers.

4. Mineo Yamamoto Indirect Relief Printing of Seahorses
In past workshops, Mineo has taught both direct and indirect relief printing using crabs, lobsters, and fishes, using his special oil based inks. Every class by Mineo includes instruction on making tampos or daubers.

5. Mineo Yamamoto Background Printing 
Students learned to make interesting backgrounds for your traditional fish prints.

6. Charles Morgan Foilography
Nature printing using a plate produced with the object (a fern, a dragon fly, a leaf) are printed by covering the specimen with aluminum foil put in a vacuum press. The prints using this method are surprisingly detailed, and require an etching press.

7. Charles Morgan Face Printing
This will be a first time and non-traditional class for one of our workshops. The examples Charles had with him last summer in Maine were intriguing.

8. Don Jenson Nature Printing with Block Relief
The rubber blocks are easy to cut using traditional block cutting tools. The prints were made using hand pressure or a barren for burnishing, or a press.

9. Chris Dewees Traditional Fish Printing 
This was a basic direct fish printing technique class. Chris is the author of A Printer Catch, which identifies 32 of the more commercially important fish and shellfish families, and more to the point here, is illustrated by his fish prints.

10. Bill Twibell Nature Printing with Backgrounds
This class combined various objects (fishes and botanicals) for the final print, and shows Bill's methods for background in his prints.

11. Vicki Schumacher Botanical Printing
Direct printing of botanicals and insects, with water-based media additions for that "old-world feel".  Staining of paper enhanced our antique feeling for these prints.

12. Heather Fortner Direct Relief Printing of Fishes 
This was a basic fish printing technique class, and is the technique Heather has evolved over the past 20 years. Heather article Direct Fish Printing with illustrations, is available on the www.DanielSmith.com website, under on-line instruction.

13. Heather Fortner Direct Relief Printing of Seaweeds
Heather has taught seaweed printing previously and this class will use local species. She uses daubers to apply the ink to the seaweed, and then uses hand pressure to produce the image.

14. Susan Hansen Nature Prints with an Oriental Flair 
Susan uses various reduction agents (e.g., bleach, Softscrub) applied to the plant or other object to remove the color from fabric. The results are detailed negative images which all but dance across the fabric.

15. Bee Shay Printing a Nature Journal 
Bee is a returning member to the NPS but an experienced nature printer who has taught nature printing for journals. Her sample journals show a rich use of muted colors.

In addition to the organized class schedule, Hiromi Katayama, owner of Hiromi Paper International in Santa Monica (90minutes south of Santa Barbara), spoke Thursday afternoon on the varieties of Japanese papers, and provided samples of the different types used in Gyotaku and other printing.