Solarplate
Workshop with Dan WeldenSolarplate
For Dan’s Monotype class click here
July 7-11, 2025
Limited to 8
Artists wishing to experience high quality and detail with intaglio or relief, Solarplate provides both, and in an environmentally friendly way. You will get to create quality impressions, without the use of nasty acids, grounds or sharp tools on a long lasting plate. Solarplate is such a creative person’s process. It easily allows for drawing and/or painting, photocopy or computer images. Your image is readily transferred to a light sensitized Solarplate that then is developed in water, quickly cured, inked and printed.
Solarplate is surprisingly simple and, with experience, can be completed in a matter of minutes. While the process prints beautiful single impression prints the process may keep you experimenting and discovering new ways to create with layers, color, multi-drops, multi-plates, even integration with other processes and mediums. Printed effects are equivalent to hard ground, soft ground, aquatint, and gravure, as well as relief prints. This is a wonderfully direct, engaging way to make images.
What’s Included
This course goes through numerous approaches to getting images on Solarplates. The studio of MakingArtSafely is well equipped with presses, inks, and all the typical materials and tools. In addition there are thick glass plates for graining and drawing on, exposure boxes, sunshine, contact systems, development trays and all that is needed for Dan to teach. There is also a good selection of mark making pencils and markers appropriate to Solarplate.
What to Bring
You could arrive with none of the following items, just the clothes on your back, and be fine. But you will want to consider the following list. However, if packing all these things for air travel is overwhelming, there are excellent art supply stores in Santa Fe for anything not already available in the studio, except of course those items personal to you.
Note your General Studio Fee is used to provide an extensive array of relevant shop needs, including ink, ink knives, modifiers, a reasonable amount of paper which will cover your learning needs, cleaning supplies, paper towels and rags, tarlatan, newsprint, mat knives, aprons, some drawing acetates, India ink, and a thorough list of other communal creative printshop needs. What is not covered by your fees are non-communal printing supplies such as Solarplates. Papers are available in the studio at excellent prices. Additional, items are constantly being added. Solarplates are available from Dan Welden as described below.
Solarplates are available at the workshop directly from Dan Welden in 8×10 inch for the discounted price, 25% off his internet price. Larger sizes should be requested well in advance by emailing Dan Welden at Solarplate. Smaller sizes and test plates can be cut from your 8×10 plates. Prices at the workshop are at least 25% less than retail.
- Source materials such as sketches and drawings, even photographs.
- Old manual plastic toothbrush
- Scratching tools, anything not too sharp (pack in bag you are checking, remember airport security!)
- Watercolor and or bristle brushes
- Good hand pencil sharpener for soft leads (electric provided in studio)
- Laptop is optional. but at least a flash drive with images that you want to work with while you are here.
- Large enough luggage to pack small and medium prints, with stiff protector (cardboard or matt board). Large prints can be shipped to you at the listed fee or you can roll them in a shipping tube at your discretion.
That’s it! Any questions about supplies, please feel free to contact us.
Workshop Itinerary
- Monday morning begins with students arriving at the studio between 9:30-10 AM.
- Daily instruction is 10 AM to 4 PM with the studio open to students between 9:30 AM and 7 PM. Exception is Friday when the workshop ends at 4 PM.
- Bring a lunch everyday except Wednesday when we go out Dutch for a late lunch