Living on a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean often makes it tricky to find courses you can actually get to in person. I’ve loved Welsh printmaker Marian’s work and style since I stumbled across her on Instagram, and was excited to see that she offered online tutorials in both relief and intaglio collagraph techniques.
I had been curious about intaglio printmaking for a while and collagraph seemed to be a good ‘gateway’ technique (as well as being an option for trying out as a relief method as I don’t yet have an etching press). Marian’s work has a painterly look that really appeals to me, too, so she was the obvious person to turn to for an introduction.
We had a quick chat over email while booking the session, and Marian kindly agreed to adapt the tutorial to cover both collagraph approaches. She usually focuses on either one or the other and sends one of her beautiful bird prints to participants, but as I’m in Spain and the postal service being what it is post-Brexit, this wasn’t possible in my case.
Ahead of the one-hour video call, Marian sent over an illustrated (very handy to have a visual guide) list of recommended materials. However, I didn’t need these for the tutorial, which was purely going to be an intensive, in-at-the-deep-end demonstration of how she creates collagraph plates and prints them using the two techniques.
Unsurprisingly, the time whizzed by. Marian was absolutely lovely to speak to and kindly shared her expertise and handy tips based on many years of trial and experimentation in her print studio. Watching her skillfully create the plates was mesmerising and inspiring in equal measure, and left me itching to have a go as soon as I can find someone with an etching press…
Find out more about Marian and her work on the Studio Cennen website, or on her Etsy page. All photos courtesy of Marian.
