Press Release
PARTICIPANTS LEARN THE ART OF ACID-FREE CYANOTYPE PRINTMAKING AT JKK
The newly refurbished ‘Graphic Arts studio’ of Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) holded a workshop to teach non-toxic techniques of developing cyanotype prints. The workshop conducted by Ms. Kavita Shah of Chaap Foundation teached the students an alternative process which is environment friendly.
Ms. Shah said that by using alternative processes of making prints we are not only protecting the environment but also the printmakers who are inhaling these chemicals during the printmaking process. It is essential to teach the new generation these techniques so that they get used to them and not switch back to toxic materials. They can also help pass these alternative techniques forward and expose others to the same.
As many as 10 students have taken part in the workshop to learn the beautiful and simplistic process of creating these famous blue prints. The workshops give the participants an overview of the 170-year old process and its history. The students use the darkroom to coat paper using a mixture of chemicals. After this, they expose the prints in the sunlight for a certain time period. Finally, they judge the amount of exposure each print has received before washing them with water and drying the prints.
It is to be recalled that ‘Cyanotype’ is the 2nd workshop in the series of 4 workshops being held at JKK in the months of February and March. All workshops being conducted majorly focus on the use of non-toxic materials by not using resin and nitric acid to help protect the environment during disposal of these materials. The upcoming workshops on ‘Linocut’ and ‘Etching’ in the month of March will also be using non-toxic materials to teach the students.
It is worth noting that JKK has been working to promote the ‘Printed Arts’ by popularizing printmaking as a form of art and equip the participants to use print art tools. Earlier in August last year, three exhibitions on print art, namely ‘The Printed Picture’, ‘Khel’ and ‘Prints from Rajasthan’ were also organised. The exhibitions extolled the history and process of printmaking within Rajasthan, India and abroad. As a part of the exhibition, earlier in September last year, JKK organised the 3-day workshop – ‘Monoprint’ wherein, participants used ‘acrylic’ and created different textures using inks, colours and lines.
