ART SCHOOLS: SAMPLE PROGRAMS
with nontoxic emphasis
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Bowling Green State University
Location Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
Faculty
Website
About Printmaking at Bowling Green State University
Contemporary printmaking has evolved into an interdisciplinary medium, combining traditional and alternative processes that integrate printmaking with other studio disciplines, such as painting, fibers, ceramics, and digital arts. With the recent movement toward non-toxic materials, digital imaging, and photographic processes, printmaking remains an exciting and ever-changing field. The Printmaking program at Bowling Green State University introduces students to a wide range of techniques and processes with an emphasis on the development of critical thinking and an individual artistic vision. BGSU Area Head of Printmaking, Janet Ballweg's current research in printmaking is carried out using non-toxic processes that integrate 3d modeling, digital imaging, intaglio and lithography.
Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts
Location Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Contact
Website
About Printmaking at Carnegie Mellon University
The School of Art Printmaking and Small Metals studios have been clearing the way for faster, cheaper, and greener methods for etching. In Fall 2009 students will be introduced to a new process called PHOTOCOPY ETCH, which can be used in conjunction with other non-toxic processes, on zinc, aluminum, copper, and steal intaglio plates and brass in the small metals studios. What makes Photocopy Etch unlike anything else is its ability to transfer a drawing or photo onto a plate without the use of chemicals or any other hazardous substance to make an etch resist. The price of this process is currently under 50 cents, making it not only the fastest and safest, but also cheapest form of transfer. It is also a process that anyone can do at home, allowing people to venture outside the traditional print studio setting. School of Art Print Technician, Matt Forrest, has ensured that other non-toxic methods for etching and cleaning plates will continue, which include equipping the intaglio studio for use of the Saline Sulfate Etch process while also adapting new processes to etch copper using citric acid.
City College of San Francisco
Location San Francisco, California, USA
Faculty
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About Printmaking at City College of San Francisco
At City College of San Francisco's Fort Mason and Ocean Avenue campuses, a variety of printmaking courses are offered for the beginning, intermediate and advanced student of the medium. Techniques covered in the courses include etching, intaglio, lithography, relief and the monotype and monoprint. Equipped with a range of presses and employing traditional to non-toxic mordants and grounds both campuses provide a supportive learning environment for students to develop both their technical skills as well as their creative and analytical minds. In recent years, printmakers have engaged in finding non-toxic materials to replace traditional ones that were noxious and problematic in a teaching environment. Resulting from such efforts, exciting and cost effective materials such as water based grounds and films used originally in the silicon chip industry have found their way into printmaking labs around the world. At City College of San Francisco, Ocean Avenue Campus, students are learning how to use such materials in the exploration of their ideas and so further expand upon the rich basis of some many people's efforts.
Chester College of New England
Location Chester, New Hampshire, USA
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About Printmaking at Chester College
Nancy Diessner, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, earned her BA in Painting, Printmaking, and Drawing from Bennington College, and her MFA in Painting and Sculpture from Hunter College in New York City. She exhibits regularly at Bromfield Gallery in Boston's South End, and is a member of The Boston Printmakers, the Experimental Etching Studio, and Zea Mays Printmaking. Her work combines printmaking with photography, drawing, painting, and, occasionally, handmade books. In her own studio and in the printmaking studio that she created at Chester College, she is committed to teaching and working with green printmaking processes, using no solvents or toxic materials. The Chester studio is not only better for the environment than a traditional printmaking studio, but it also provides a healthier working space for our students.
Connecticut College
Location New London, Connecticut, USA
Faculty
Website
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About Printmaking at Connecticut College
Professor of art Timothy McDowell, a printmaking specialist, set out to transform the CC printmaking studios into a new "greener" facility in 2005 by implementing Dan Welden's acid-free "etching" technique using light energy to produce intaglio plates,replacing hazardous acids. McDowell took part in a SOLARPLATE printmaking workshop at Weldon's studio in Sag Harbor, NY. The trip, which was sponsored by the college through a travel and research grant, helped the students familiarize themselves with the new acid-free printmaking technique that they had already started learning at the college. McDowell considers the environmental benefits of the new technique to be extensive. Petrochemicals, solvents, and acids which were standard in printmaking, are no longer necessary to create prints. Connecticut College is one among a group of colleges and universities that have implemented Weldon's solarplate technique. As a result of their experience at Weldon's workshop, the college formulated a plan to dismantle its acid and solvent room and remodel it into a computer lab where students could appropriate and manipulate images to be made into prints.
Eastern Connecticut State University
Location Willimantic, CT, USA
Faculty
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About Printmaking at Eastern Connecticut State University
The Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Arts offers five concentrations of study: Art History, Digital Art & Design, Painting & Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture. Students learn to think visually as they study different media, become familiar with visual language, acquire knowledge of expressive techniques, and learn the context of the art of different cultures. Students become skilled at articulating the conceptual and aesthetic relevance of works of art.
The Printmaking Concentration educates and trains students in the art of printmaking in an inspiring, stimulating, and safe environment. Students learn traditional, as well as other alternative methods, using non-toxic printmaking applications.
Gwen Frostic School of Art Western Michigan University
Location Kalamazoo, MI, USA
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About Printmaking at the Gwen Frostic School of Art
Students in the Printmaking Program gain experience, technical skills and the ability to approach critical issues confronting both traditional and current systems of printmaking. These include stone and plate lithography, intaglio, relief printing, screenprinting and the incorporation of photomechanical and non-traditional techniques within each process. One of the longest standing print programs in the upper Midwest, the program encourages individual development and stimulates the production of innovative, high quality work. Our faculty members guide students as artists within an intellectual studio context, helping them to master the complex process of creating print-based images. Upon successful completion of the program, students will possess both the necessary technical skills and intellectual faculties critical to an educated artist.
The newly remodeled Printmaking facilities accommodate all manner of contemporary and traditional processes while remaining committed to providing a healthy, non-toxic working environment. Over 4000 square feet of space houses 3 separate but adjacent studios in screenprinting, lithography, and intaglio/relief designed to allow students to work fluidly between print media. There is also a communal paper preparation area and dedicated computer lab for the creation of digital imagery and photomechanical transparencies.
Kennesaw State University
Location Kennesaw, GA, USA
Faculty
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About Printmaking at Kennesaw State University
As senior faculty in the photography and printmaking areas, Valerie Dibble has served the Visual Arts department since 1996. Under Valerie's supervision the printmaking area strives to stay current with the most contemporary non toxic techniques. We cover all traditional processes as well as new processes that incorporate the most recent technology. We have a Digital Darkroom equipped with Macintosh computers, photo quality scanners, card readers and large format archival printers as well as a Xante platemaker for transferring digital images to polyester lithographic plates. We have etching presses and a lithography area as well as silkscreen and relief. Our studio houses a darkroom and flip top exposing unit so we can incorporate photo processes for printmakers in the advanced courses. We engage in alternative processes such as van dykes, solar plates, Polaroid image and emulsion transfers, ImageOn and any new process we hear about! Our studios are as environmentally friendly as we can possible make them and we continue to look for the highest industry standards for our students in that area. With our Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, our department is enjoying new growth in the areas of photography and printmaking as we continue our efforts to prepare our students for their professional lives.
editors note:
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to be included here, and please use a link
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Memphis College of Art
Location Memphis, TN, USA
Faculty
Website
About Printmaking at Memphis College of Art
Experiment to find your own iconography. The Printmaking concentration and Memphis College of Art will allow you to explore traditional and contemporary printmaking processes while creating indelible multiples or one-of-a-kind prints of your own images. Techniques include woodcut, intaglio, serigraphy, lithography, collography and monotype.
Water based screenprinting and non-toxic intaglio processes are used. We use water-soluble inks only for all intaglio, relief and monotype printing and mostly use the pronto or Smart plates process for lithography or waterless lithography.We use Polymer plate, the polymer film process or ferric chloride for copper plates. We use only acrylic grounds. We are currently working on lowering emissions and toxic materials in the area of stone lithography. Cleaning does not involve solvents (very seldom there is a need for denature alcohol, mineral spirits, or acetone). We recycle newspapers, metal plates, use cotton towels when blotting and get our chemicals pick up for disposal. We have been approved by OSHA and have requested a visit from TN OSHA.
Middle Tennessee State University
Location Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
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About Printmaking at Middle Tennessee State University
The Middle Tennessee State University Art Department offers a B.F.A. degree in Studio with a concentration in printmaking. Students may also receive a minor concentration in printmaking within the art department. Our alumni include artists who are supporting themselves through sales of their work, university professors, and professionals involved in all aspects of the arts. In September 2005 we moved into a newly renovated facility in the former Todd Library Building on campus with over 5500 square feet of instructional space.This includes a digital lab, a paper preparation facility, an exposure room for photo-printmaking processes, a silkscreen studio, a studio for etching and lithography, a sink room, and a mordant room. We are proud of the excellent equipment in the printmaking area, including: 3 etching presses (Brand, Sturges, and Takach), 2 lithography presses, 3 exposure units (Douthitt, Polylite, and Nu-Arc), Hydrobooth and Hydroblaster, Lithography graining sink, 5 Macintosh computers, 1 Dell computer, 1 Epson 7600 printer, 1 Elite laser printer, 1 Colorspan Printmaker Giclee printer, 1 Universal Laser Engraver, 2 light tables. Classes taught include Silkscreen (ART 2130), Etching & Intaglio (ART 3140), Lithography (ART 4100) and Intermediate and Advanced Printmaking classes. Our graduates have gone on to outstanding MFA programs such as the Art Institute of Chicago, The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the University of Minnesota, Ohio University, the University of Georgia, and many others. In addition, we host the award-winning Printmaking Links web site, used by printmakers all over the world.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Location Rochester, New York, USA
Faculty
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About Nontoxic Printmaking at RIT
The School of Art at RIT specializes in non-toxic printmaking techniques as an integral part of the fine art course offering. RIT has made a committment to become a world focal point where professional printmakers and teachers can learn to apply non-toxic printmaking techniques in both the educational and professional environment. The mandate of the Non-Toxic Program addresses the shift towards health and safety consciousness in the classroom/studio while offering graduates new avenues of creativity and employment. It was initiated to expand the offerings of the School of Art to include the latest innovations in the fine art field of printmaking. Non-toxic printmaking is taught at all undergraduate and graduate levels and students can opt to undertake non-toxic printmaking as a major subject of specialization. In addition, to meet the demand of in-service or re-training of printmaking professionals, RIT has initiated an intensive 12 credit Graduate Certificate in Non-Toxic Printmaking. This accredited program has been designed to assist printmaking professionals make the transition from traditional toxic intaglio printmaking media to non-toxic. KEITH HOWARD, the former Head of Printmaking and Research at the School of Art is considered the foremost authority within the field of non-toxic printmaking.
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University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Location Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Faculty Todd Sherman
Website
About Printmaking at UAF
The printmaking department offers courses in Beginning through Advanced and Graduate Printmaking, Relief (linoleum and woodblock), Intaglio (etching, engraving and drypoint), Lithography, Silkscreen, Photo-Processes and Monotypes and Monoprints. Students are encouraged to develop their aesthetics through exploring imagery, colors and various printmaking techniques as well as exploration into the many possibilities used in combination to make prints. The studio has two etching presses, one combination lithography & etching press and a relief/etching press and a variety of hand and power tools to create plates and blocks for the presses. The print shop uses a ferric chloride solution in a vertical etching tank and has access to a computer and a state of the art laser platemaker for photo-process techniques.
University of Central Missouri
Location Warrensburg, Missouri, USA
Faculty
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About Printmaking at The University of Central Missouri
The printmaking area at Central is a comprehensive program involving experiences in serigraphy, intaglio, lithography and relief printmaking. The latest techniques, focusing on the reduction of hazardous materials, are employed for the students' utmost safety. In this user-friendly environment, students are encouraged to capitalize on the unique aspects of the various printmaking processes as a means to fulfill personal artistic expression. Students are required to take Printmaking I as a means of becoming acquainted with the basics of the various printmaking processes. The student then advances to Printmaking II and III where he or she continues to explore the printmaking processes on a more complex and personal level. These advanced courses are repeatable up to 9 credit hours each, with a culmination of experiences in Studio Seminar. A large Charles Brand etching press and a table model Sturgis press serve the needs of the student involved in producing intaglio and relief printmaking. A V28 Amergraph exposure unit and Atlas exposure table also provide the means for the student to experience a variety of photo-printmaking techniques. The printmaking major can take advantage of the Student Artist Coalition, thus allowing the individual to engage with other art majors for the purpose of enhancing their college experience with field trips, lectures, exhibitions, guest speakers and social events encompassing the visual arts.
University of Indianapolis
Location Indianapolis, IN, USA
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About Printmaking at the University of Indianapolis
The University of Indianapolis Department of Art and Design has been committed to safer printmaking since 2001. Intaglio processes include traditional etching opportunities with the safer Edinburgh Etch and photopolymer processes, which extend the capabilities beyond traditional methods while providing a safer studio for students and the ability to recycle materials. Newer inks permit clean up with vinegar and vegetable oil instead of the toxic solvents traditionally associated with printmaking. Undergraduate courses emphasize the role of experimentation in the creative process.
Donna Adams BEGINNERS COMPENDIUM
University of Iowa
Location Iowa City, IA, USA
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Faculty
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About Printmaking at University of Iowa
Undergraduate degrees include the B.A. in studio art and B.F.A. in Printmaking. A minor in studio art is also available to non-majors. Graduate degrees include the M.A. and M.F.A.
For nearly 50 years, The University of Iowa's printmaking program has ranked among the best in the country. From class discussions of the history of printmaking to instruction in the making of prints, emphasis is placed on teaching students about significant historical print concepts and helping them discover new ways of adding to the printmaking tradition. Students also learn about artistic self-analysis through group and individual critiques. Actual masterworks on paper are accessible through a comprehensive museum collection of prints including all techniques and all periods of art history.
University of Kentucky
Location Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Faculty
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About Printmaking at the University Of Kentucky
Making art-printmaking, for example-is challenging. It can also be toxic.Toxic elements first seeped into the printmaking world with the invention of oil paint. New, often hazardous, chemicals were needed to break down oil-based inks. Common household chemicals like turpentine and nail polish remover are among the more than 100 toxic substances used by traditional printmakers. Some of the known side effects from continuous exposure to these chemicals include birth defects, central nervous systemdamage, asthma and emphysema, and systemic poisoning of the lungs, liver, kidneys, and heart.This danger is what prompted UK Professors Gerald Ferstman and his colleague, Ross Zirkle, to create non-toxic techniques to keep their students safe and keep their craft alive. AT UK they experimented with a water-based ink that can be used in all printmaking techniques and worked to improve and adapt new non-toxic products. Zirkle's research centered on waterless lithography. The result was a very workable system of ink and modifiers that provides a safe, economic and reliable alternative to oil- and solvent-based lithography.
University of Michigan
Location Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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About Printmaking at University of Michigan
The Print media studio includes two distinct areas, one for hand printing and one for digital printing. The Hand Printing Areaincludes an etching pressroom with 3 etching presses and a proofing press. The studio also has a litho pressroom featuring 3 litho presses. There is equipment for ferric-chloride etching, and a 32 x40 inch exposure unit for photo-sensitive litho and intaglio plates.The Digital Printing Area includes a computer-lab with 10 Mac stations and 10 Epson inkjet printers, along with two flatbed scanners and a film scanner. The printers are able to print up to 17 inches wide and are equipped with Ultrachrome K3 archival inks.
University of Montana
Location Missoula, Montana, USA
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About Printmaking at The University of Montana
The printmaking division at The University of Montana School of Art focuses on the creation of prints as an original form of artistic expression. Students are encouraged to explore the unique serial and replicable nature of printmaking, to engage with and respond to the creative process, and to work toward greater clarity of concept and extended investigation of process. We are committed to continuing the traditions of the print media while also expanding their boundaries through innovation in concept and technique. The printmaking program provides the safest work environment for both students and the environment by exploring and adopting less-toxic processes and materials, without sacrificing any traditional media.
Our varied coursework includes: relief, (including our annual Steamroller print project), intaglio (acrylic & traditional grounds, Image-On), water-based screen-printing, lithography (stone, plate, photo processes, waterless litho), collagraph, digital media, mixed-media printmaking, installation and the book arts.
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Sarah Lawrence College
Location Bronxville, New York, USA
Faculty
Website
About Printmaking at Sarah Lawrence College
Printmaking I and II: This course introduces the student to the basic fundamentals and concepts of printmaking in an environment that practices newly developed, nontoxic printmaking methodologies. Participants will learn how to develop an image on a particular surface, how to transfer the image to paper, edition printing, and presentation. Students will utilize the tools, materials, and equipment required to produce a print in a variety of media, including intaglio, silkscreen, and relief prints. The techniques involved in each of these processes are numerous and complex. Emphasis is placed on finding those techniques best suited to the development of each class member's aesthetic concerns.
Advanced Printmaking: This course offers an opportunity for an in-depth study of advanced printmaking techniques. Students will be encouraged to master traditional skills and techniques so that familiarity with process will lead to the development of a personal and meaningful body of work. The course will also cover all aspects of letterpress printing, enabling participants to incorporate text into their conference work, if so desired.
Shepherd University
Location Shepherdstown, WV, USA
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About Printmaking at Shepherd University
Printmaking is a non-toxic studio housed in the Center for Contemporary Art. Printmaking in this studio is focused on the use of techniques that are safe and less hazardous to the artist and the environment. Many traditional printmaking techniques have been converted to non-toxic methods and new innovative approaches to non-toxic printmaking are encouraged. The print studio has intaglio presses and lithography presses and the equipment necessary for hand printing within a wide range of processes.
The BFA printmaking program at Shepherd gives the undergraduate student an opportunity to explore lithography, intaglio, relief and monoprint processes. The first two years of the program provide an introduction to printmaking and to fine art theory and practice. Students are encouraged to develop compositional skills in printmaking classes as well as in all studio art classes. Problem solving techniques and exposure to a variety of media and processes are encouraged and developed during the first two years. The last two years the student will be expected to develop a personal style through exposure to contemporary art, theory and practice. Students will explore contemporary applications of print media and will develop their own unique methods and visual vocabulary.
Webster University
Location St Louis, Missouri, USA
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About Printmaking at Webster University
Printmaking students use the most current printmaking materials and practices. The non-toxic studio is fully equipped for work in relief, intaglio, etching, waterless lithography and silk-screen. "The Department of Art at Webster University prepares students for successful careers in the arts. At the same time, we provide students with an education that makes them creative and tolerant citizens with awareness of the relevance of art in a changing world. Emerging technologies and new forms of art are embraced within the framework of a traditional media. Because of small classes and careful advising, students are able to take full advantage of a dedicated faculty of practicing artists and scholars. Coordinated international studies, professional internships, and weekly presentations by visiting artists help to form a highly unique program." Tom Lang, Department Chair
Western Oregon University
Location Monmouth, Oregon, USA
Faculty
Website
About Printmaking at Western Oregon University
The WOU printmaking studio is one of the few printmaking departments nationwide that has embraced innovative non-toxic methods in all areas of printmaking: screen printing, lithography, intaglio (etching), relief, and monotypes. The aim was to make their printmaking program safer, more economical, and environmentally friendly without compromising the rich and expressive quality of the printed image itself. WOU have reduced hazards without compromising the breadth or richness of their students' experience in printmaking. Some of the health conscious changes that have been made include: (i) adding non-etc intaglio options such as Solarplate, ImagOn and the silk aquatint process to our ferric salt-based etching program; (ii) replacing stone lithography with polyester plate lithography; (iii) using soy-based Akua inks for relief, monotype and intaglio printing; (iv) cleaning oil-based litho inks with baby oil or citrus cleaners; (v) using water-based inks and liquid stencils for screenprinting.
University of Dayton
Location Dayton, Ohio, USA
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Printmaking at the University of Dayton
Erin Holscher is a graduate of RIT, New York, where she studied nontoxic printmaking with Keith Howard. The University of Dayton printmaking studio is emphasizing nontoxic methods; only acrylic etching grounds are used, the silkscreen area is water based, and no hydrocarbon solvents are used. Wherever oil based printing inks are used these are cleaned with safe and nontoxic solvents such as vegetable oil.
Lander University
Location Chester, New Hampshire, USA
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The program has recently been updated to include water based silkscreen and a range of other safe processes.
Bowdoin College: Printmaking
Art students at Bowdoin utilize a wide range of traditional and cutting edge printmaking techniques. Our printmaking classes use the techniques of etching and intaglio printing, silkscreen, woodcut relief printing, letterpress, book arts, and photo-printmaking. We exercise sustainable practices in our printmaking facility whenever possible, working with non-toxic acrylic etching grounds and cleaning up without solvents. The facilities include a print workshop with etching presses and outdoor patio work area, a bright and spacious non-toxic etching room, a brand new silkscreen facility equipped for large-format screen-making, and a letterpress and book arts classroom. Printmaking students have 24-hour key card access to all areas of the printmaking facility and student teaching assistants are often available to support students working after hours.
Website
The Green Art School
Early in 2009, after seven successful years in York, Handprint Studio relocated to Trewidden Studios in Penwith, Cornwall, occupying a studio which is part of a specially converted Victorian stable-block at 
NIET-TOXISCHE-GRAFIEK, Belgium
Hester Stinnett's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is in numerous private and public collections, including the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Walker Art Center. 
Screenprinting: The Complete Water-based System
Polyester Plate Lithography for Fine Artists
Manual del grabado electrolitico
