OFF OUR ROCKERS: MEZZOTINT

Demonstrators: Aaron Coleman and Kirsten Flaherty

 

Using the 375-year-old art of mezzotint, artists Aaron Coleman and Kirsten Flaherty will demonstrate how to prepare, ink, and print this centuries-old technique.

 

Mezzotint (from the Italian word mezzo, meaning "half", and tinta, meaning "tone") is a form of intaglio that has been used since the seventeenth century. A rich variety of tones and subtle gradations are a unique characteristic of the medium, and these tones can be used to create photorealistic imagery that would not be possible to create through any other intaglio process. Because of this, mezzotint became popular as a method of reproducing portraits and paintings by the eighteenth century.

 

During this demonstration, Coleman and Flaherty will define the tools required, show the rocking process when preparing the plate, as well as how to burnish and scrape an image. The artists will also review how to print a mezzotint plate.

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ABOUT AARON COLEMAN

Aaron Coleman is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Arizona. He received his MFA from Northern Illinois University and has taught all levels and media in printmaking at California State University Fresno and Northern Illinois University. Coleman is a mixed media artist and printmaker creating works focused on political and social issues. The artist's work can be found in the collections of The University of Colorado, Wichita State University, the Ino-cho Paper Museum in Kochi, Japan, The Yekaterinburg Museum of Art in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Ewing Gallery Collection and among many other public and private collections.

 

ABOUT KIRSTEN FLAHERTY

Kirsten Flaherty resides in New York as a printmaker and freelancer. She has worked at various nonprofit institutions such as International Print Center New York, Dieu Donné Papermill, and Manhattan Graphics Center. Flaherty holds a position on the Board of Directors of the New York Society of Etchers and has independently curated multiple fundraising exhibitions to benefit various non-profit organizations. The artist’s most recent work has focused on utilizing mezzotint to further awareness about social and environmental issues.