non-acid intaglio printmaking with Haig Demarjian

The desire to incise marks into a hard surface by forcing another, harder material against it is a BASIC IMPULSE of humankind. This is evinced by some of the earliest marks known to us, made by our ancestors. Hewn into stone in disparate areas of the globe are ancient reminders of this primal desire to make lasting marks in material whose resistance makes it seem impenetrable.

A rich legacy of the incised mark exists in all earliest civilizations and by medieval times, engraving had become an important decorative art with jewelers and metalsmiths incising designs into armor and weaponry. When the idea came to engrave on metal plate and use tremendous pressure to force paper into the inked marks, engraving as a printmaking medium was born. Through the Renaissance and well beyond, engraving (along with etching) took its place as the foremost reproductive medium, a means of mass communication with an inherently distinctive elegance.

In the last 500 years, the tools and activity of engraving have changed very little. The engraving tool, called a burin, is simply a highly­sharpened, bent metal rod with a mushroom­shaped handle that is gripped in the palm of the hand. The point of the tool is forced into the metal plate (usually copper or zinc) and cuts a crisp, v­shaped trench into the surface. The challenge of controlling not only direction and speed, but also depth and width of line can be a refreshing shift for the artist who is very comfortable with the drawn line. Whereas in drawing the artist tends to drag a line across the page, watching the mark trail behind the markmaking tool, in engraving one pushes the mark ahead of the burin and the trace of the tool is hidden beneath it. This manner of markmaking demands a kind of attention and deliberation that makes the activity of engraving very unlike drawing.

This immersive workshop will give students the opportunity to examine the medium’s long history and idiosyncratic process in depth, studying past and present masters of the craft. We will learn about engraving’s roots as a reproductive medium, but also focus on its rebirth in the 20th century as a unique form of expression in its own right, with artists exploiting the varied and beautiful language of the incised mark with renewed passion. Instructor Haig Demarjian was trained primarily as a printmaker, but has also created work as a painter, illustrator, comicbook artist and film­maker. He first began engraving 25 years ago and sees it as one of many ways to access imagery through markmaking. Although it has never been his mainstay activity, over the years he has continued to return to engraving again and again. Finding the balance between the medium’s demand for meditative focus and it’s spontaneous expressive qualities yields exciting results while uniquely enhancing his approach to other studio work.

In addition to engraving, we will explore other means of coaxing marks from the metal plate as well: drypoint, roulette and even power tools will be introduced, with each yielding its own range of tonal language.

The process is painstaking, grueling; at times tedious, at times transcendent… when working metal on metal nothing ever comes easy, but the process itself can be immensely satisfying, and the results are like nothing else. “Wohlgemuth”, copperplate engraving by Haig Demarjian, 6 x 8 inches.

Haig Demarjian was trained primarily as a printmaker, earned his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and received both an MA and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin­Madison. He is a Professor of Art + Design at Salem State University, where he teaches drawing and printmaking. His work has been exhibited internationally and spans a broad range of media from fine art to commercial illustration to motion picture film. His printmaking was recently included in the juried national exhibition Impressions 2014 at Sarah Silberman Gallery, Rockville, MD as well as traveling shows such as the Engraving 2009 print portfolio as well as the Southern Graphics Council International Juried Members Show which debuted in New Orleans in 2012 and travels internationally through 2017. Unable to settle his ideas into any single medium, in addition to painting, printmaking and teaching, he is currently writing and drawing the weekly adventures of his comic book creation Super Inga, which can be followed at SuperIngaSaga.com To see more of his work, visit his online HQ at www.artofHaig.com