BMAS: Soy Artista Dry Point Printmaking Workshop
I would like to thank Self Help Graphics for inviting me to teach this BMAS community arts workshop. Congratulations to these young and talented artists! In this workshop we drew, traced, designed, beveled, carved and inked up our drypoint plates creating some expressive, complex and imaginative self portrait works. We also experimented by adding color to at least one of our prints. The class allows us 4 days to produce at least 3 prints where one will be placed on exhibition at Self help Graphics & Art.
Most things we see can be broken down into shapes. This helps artists to understand the visual world in a way that helps build drawing skills. Using a plexiglass plate to create a drypoint (engraving) relief print, students made a complex image of a digital selfie, breaking down values into organic and/or geometric shapes to create a self portrait. Since we only had 4 days and various skill levels, tracing skills come in handy for this. Tracing is a form of drawing and is one way young artists can practice and gain confidence in their drawing skills.
Some might say that tracing is "cheating," but I completely disagree. Tracing, contour drawing, life drawing are all important skills for visual artists to master. Surprisingly, tracing is an important drawing skill where many students struggle and some are more at ease. Tracing is a great way to Develop coordination and focus. Recognizing the various value (darks and lights) while adding lines and shapes to create patterns, students worked to design a self portrait that is successful and meaningful to them.
The Barrio Mobile Art Studio (BMAS) began in 1974, in a converted UPS-style truck, and was the first of its kind in the country to take arts education to the streets of Los Angeles. It later relaunched in 2014, thanks in part to support by The James Irvine Foundation.
Our team of skilled teaching artists are hired from the local community to facilitate mobile workshops in areas of printmaking, such as silkscreening, linocut, drypoint and monotype, among others. BMAS workshops can also be customized to reflect a specific theme of an event and activity type.
BMAS nurtures a cohort of intergenerational artists and makes art accessible in neighborhoods across Southern California, expanding arts education in public schools, libraries, parks, community centers, museums and alternative public spaces. The program is based in Boyle Heights, but activates teams beyond the Eastside, spanning throughout the City of LA and into LA County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, Ventura County and periodically in neighborhoods in Central and Northern California.
