Surprise and admiration is what I felt when the artist Helen Tago decided to come from Tallin (Estonia) to my studio to attend my electrolytic engraving classes. Helen Tago is an artist, designer, printmaker and etching teacher at Graafika.com studio. Surprise because I had never considered that in Eastern Europe they were interested in my experiences in electro-etching. Helen had obtained my manual on this technique and had already started in the practice of etching by electrolysis, but still decided to come to Gran Canaria island to learn more about this low-risk technique for printmakers that is respectful with the environment.
And, admiration, because Helen has two children of 7 and 4 years and one of 10 months. She arrived with her husband and her three children, they rented a rural house about three kilometers from the studio and from there she walked every day, about forty-five minutes, to the workshop, but her joy and affability were contagious.
Although Helen left the workshop at noon to go with her family and did not have time to work in the afternoons in the studio, Helen was able to totally control electro-etching techniques such as: Etching lines on hard ground, open bite electrotint for tonal areas. She has also tried graphite ink resist to etching lines and obtaining grey tones of different intensity by diluting the varnish. She also worked with semi-dry electro-etching and galvanized lines as well. Some of her plates figure plants from our garden that were drawn from Nature. I hope that her stay here with us will prove to be useful in her future experiments with electro-etching in her studio.
Pictures from the workshop
Helen Tago speaks about her experience in the workshop-residency
Pikaajaline suur soov tegeleda söövitustehnikatega viis mind erinevate kaasaegsete nö mittemürgiste tehnikate lähema uurimiseni. Lähtuvalt ohutusest ja soovist vähendada tervise ja keskonnamõjusid mida traditsiooniline happesöövitus endaga kaasa toob leidsingi enda jaoks 2015 aastal Electro-Etchingu e. voolusöövituse. Tellisin Alfonso Crujera raamatu ning asusin selle järgi õppima.
Jõudsin seda tehnikat Eestis isegi teistele graafikutele tutvustada kuid tundsin, et edasi minekuks oleks vaja tõuget. Kolm aastat hiljem jõudsingi kõige kiuste imelisele Gran Canaria saarele meister Alfonso Crujera suurepärasesse ateljeesse. Kaks intensiivset nädalat ateljees olid väga õpetlikud. Sain tunda kuidas keskond millesse satud mõjutab su otsuseid. Kuna jagasin aega pere ja töö vahel siis rentisime maja mäe otsas ja matk mööda kitsast mägiteed alla ateljeesse võttis umbes 40 minutit ning tööaega jäi igapäevaselt neli intensiivset tundi. Nautisin seda igapäevast jalutuskäiku väga.
Aja puudusel pidin oma mugavustsoonist lahkuma ja joonistama otse lakiga kaetud plaadile kuna ettevalmistusteks ja kavanditeks polnud lihtsalt aega. Vastupidiselt plaanile jätkata Eestis alustatud teemadega võttis saare vulkaaniline loodus mu kujutlusvõime pantvangi ja nii tegelesingi ma põhiliselt taimede ja mägedede ning ümbritseva kujutamisega.
Alfonso on õpetajana väga toetav ja innustav. Tema hästivarustatud avarad tööruumid on iga kunstniku unistus. Meistri tegevust jälgides õppisin nii mõndagi ning sain aru, mida varem valesti olin teinud.
Soovitan Alfonso Crujera ateljeed kõigile graafikahuvilistele, kes tahavad oma teadmisi lihvida.
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For a long time I was trying to find contemporary, less toxic alternatives for etching copper. On the website nontoxicprintmaking.com I found Electro-etching. I ordered the book by Alfonso Crujera and started experimenting.
After initial testing I even taught it to other printmakers but I felt like I needed a push to keep going. Three years later I managed to travel to the beautiful island of Gran Canaria to the wonderful studio of master Alfonso Crujera. I spent there two intensive weeks and learned a lot. I found out how the environment influences your choices. As I had to divide my time between my family and studio we rented a house on the top of a mountain in a nearby village. Each morning I walked for 40 minutes downhill and spent 4 intensive hours in the studio.
As I had only limited time in the studio I had to leave my comfort zone and draw directly on the plate. And I had to abandon my plan to continue the themes I worked on in Estonia as the Island volcanic landscape and nature kidnapped my imagination. Alfonso was very supportive and encouraging. The studio is spacious and well equipped not to mention the view. An artists dream. I learned a lot by observing the master working. My workflow improved. It was a very nice experience.
I recommend Alfonso Crujera studio to any artist who wishes to further their knowledge about printmaking.
Helen Tago's electro-etchings
More information about Helen Tago