Subject: ONLY a FEW SPACES ... Printmaking FALL CLASSES at ABRAZOS PRESS start September 18.. come get inky!!
Date: September 8, 2025 at 10:36:28 PM EDT
IMPROVISATIONAL WOODCUT — like Jazz, but with sharp tools and ink
10 sessions
DATES: THURSDAY MORNINGS — September 18,25,October 9,16,23,30,November 6,13,20, December 4
TIME: 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
Cost: $650
Improvisational woodcut: The most ancient printmaking technique honors the hand, the mark and the constructive/destruction of wood transformed into printmaking matrices when surfaces are carved, scratched or abraded. Each block becomes a layer of information that can be combined with other blocks, stencils and masks to yield unique, contemporary results. Tool maintenance and sharpening, ink application and modification, image transfer and other techniques will be addressed. Improvisational woodcut can have the immediacy of collage, yet with the possibility of work in a series, for which printmaking is ideal. Students will need to have woodcut tools and can buy wood in class at cost from instructor.
WEEKEND WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 1-2 STENCILS, MASKS AND CUTOUTS
TIME:10AM-4PM
COST:$365
Join Annie as she shows basic techniques for creating masks and stencils to cover up and reveal layers to create colorful, evocative prints. This workshop will be useful for many types of printmaking techniques, although most of the sample prints will contain elements of woodcut and relief printmaking. We will explore:
+ Stencil and mask making with different materials from paper to acetate and oil board (a new materials that I am excited about)
+Possibilities for using paper stencils that are printed with quality Japanese paper for collage and chine colle’
+Overprinting our prints to create additional layers, colors and patterns
+ creating cut outs that can move using hinge techniques, as well as working with thin wire for special effects
Instruction in such a small group can be very individualized as Annie works to help students surprise themselves with new ideas and options in their work.
BASIC INFO FOR CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Class Size: Classes are limited to 4 people. Beginners welcome!
Transportation: There is ample parking at the Miller St. Studio building where ABRAZOS PRESS is located. The studio is also a 10 minute walk from the Porter Sq. T station on the Red Line.
Registration:
To secure your spot, send an email of intent to silverm...@gmail.com and mail a $50.00 deposit check* made out to Annie Silverman to:
Annie Silverman Abrazos Press 11 Miller St. Somerville, MA 02143
Annie Silverman is an experienced teacher and print maker who is the proprietor of Abrazos Press in Somerville, MA. Her books and prints have been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally,most recently in Havana,Cuba, and Northampton,MA. Her work is in the the collection of the Boston Athenaeum, the Boston Public Library and the De Cordova Museum. She was a part-time lecturer in Artists’ Books and Printmaking at Massachusetts College of Art and Design for over 15 years. In 2022 and 2023 her work was included in THE PAPER BOAT FLOTILLA, a project from the Los Angeles Printmaking Society that traveled to the Venice Bienniale and to Havana, Cuba. In May 2019 Annie taught Master Classes in polyester plate lithography in Denmark. Her work was included in the Boston Printmakers NORTH AMERICAN Biennial Exhibition in, 2023, 2019, and 2017. During the first summer of COVID in 2020, Annie was in NEW YORK CITY ‘S International Print Center’s Summer Show. Also during Covid Annie participated in the international Phoenix Art and culture project (www.visionlabcollective.com), and the Marking Lives COVID project, which was exhibited at the BROAD INSTITUTE at MIT in Cambridge, MA. She was recently interviewed for the podcast, FAINHOUSE RADIO, and her episode 18 can be found on INSTAGRAM on FAIN HOUSE radio.
Over the past few years she has written articles for PRESSING MATTERS, a British Printmaking Publication and has had her prints published in THE HAND MAGAZINE.
