Printmaking workshop

Printmaking is an art form and a method of communication that has existed for millennia.  It is one of the earliest methods of reproducing and distributing knowledge and stories, or at its simplest form, creating a repeated pattern on textile as seen in some early Egyptian textiles.  Evidence suggests that the process of rubbing an image onto another surface existed as early as 3000 BCE when the Sumerians engraved designs and cuneiform inscriptions on cylinder seals (usually made of stone).

Printmaking was popularised as a cultural storytelling form in the 1400s as a way to spread religious imagery while also “preserving” ancient imagery that was fixed in paints or drawing.  The seals of King Henry VI in the 1400s brought the idea of impressions into the mainstream. German playing cards, widely produced in the early 15th century, continued the popularizing of the process which evolved to include sophisticated etching and engraving where highly detailed images were created on metal plates.  
Over time, printing separated into two distinct areas: the more industrial form of copying important information quickly and the art form of printmaking employing the process of altering an impression on a wooden board, stone, or mesh.  Each version of the print made from one modified source template is unique in its own right.  Each rendition considers the layering of colour, the layout, line, and form artfully evolving between renditions.  
The printing press defines the main divergence between printing and printmaking.  Once the press became widely used it easily produced numerous texts in a short period of time.  Printmaking then became a true art form with limited print editions. The artist and print creator would curate copies of the impression on the page, saving and numbering as acceptable images were made.
New Zealand is lucky to have a thriving printmaking culture and history of its own.  Polynesian prints have been ubiquitous since the 1700s when Captain Cook shared the prints of Polynesia with the world.  Ventana artist Sheyne Tuffery has kept the Polynesian culture inference alive in his print work, pulling in elements from the “Tapa” decorative patterning seen for hundreds of years in the art of the South Pacific.
Sheyne Tuffery is a master teacher and print maker.  Having exhibited many times in the past decade, Sheyne has also taught numerous groups and inspired them to create a print collection of their own.  Sheyne believes that everyone can learn the process of printmaking and enjoys walking all ages through his process.
Later this month (

Photo caption: Sheyne tutoring a print making class