Darkroom & Alternative Printing

In  this workshop, participants will explore the use of cliché-verre, a  hybrid printing process that combines drawing and photography into a  single image making technique. The session presents this historical method as a bridge between hand-made gesture and light sensitive photographic materials. Participants  will learn how to produce silver gelatin photographs and lumen prints  using drawings, rubbings, and transfers onto transparent surfaces. The focus is on shaping the passage of light through opaque materials such as smoke soot, ink, and paint. Through  contact printing, photograms, and cliché-verre plates, participants  will develop a visual language based on tonal transitions and expressive  mark making. The workshop emphasizes hands-on experimentation inside the darkroom and is open to all levels.

Outline

1. Introduction to the history of cliché-verre and its uses over time

2. Walk through and demonstration of darkroom controls

3. Demonstration of cliché-verre drawing tools, materials, and their interaction with light

4. Application of materials using paint, ink, smoke soot, and found materials, individually or in combination

5. Further experimentation with light through solarization and lumen printing

6. Clean up and discussion of the final prints

In this workshop, participants will explore camera less image making through the creation of handmade negatives as both material and conceptual surfaces. Drawing inspiration from Surrealism, the Bauhaus, and abstract art, the session invites participants to treat the negative as a site where material experimentation and meaning converge.

Working with layered structures of opacity, texture, line, and translucency, each participant will design a composition that embeds a short word or phrase within the image. The process supports the development of a clear conceptual framework that connects intention, technique, and final presentation.

A wide range of techniques will be introduced, including cliché verre with ink or scratching on acetate, negative collage or sandwich negatives using strips of film or acetate, wax or oil translucency methods on tracing or Japanese paper, texture collage with fabrics and organic materials, and text or stencil masking. The emphasis is on combining multiple layers to construct complex visual and semantic relationships.

Depending on available facilities, final outcomes will be produced through black and white contact printing, cyanotype contact printing, or digital scanning of handmade negatives for on site review. This flexible structure ensures that all techniques can be tested and evaluated regardless of darkroom access.

Outline

1. Welcome and conceptual framework, safety notes, workflow overview, and selection of a keyword or message

2. Explanation and demonstration of techniques including cliché verre, negative collage or sandwich negatives, and basic registration

3. Preparation of handmade negatives using drawing, scratching, layering, and masking

4. Addition of translucent layers, textures, and text or stencil elements

5. Quick contact tests using black and white paper or cyanotype, or digital review via scanning

6. Creation of final registered contact prints using two to three layers

7. Negative swap and shared print, followed by collective review and discussion

En este taller se propone un espacio de intercambio, experimentación y producción colectiva centrado en un proceso creativo basado en la prueba y el error. La primera fase introduce el trabajo del artista, su metodología y su concepto de experimentación, acompañados por ejemplos de series propias y el visionado de obras de otros artistas que trabajan con esta técnica.

A partir de este marco, lxs participantes trabajarán en grupos definiendo objetivos comunes y desarrollando pruebas sobre distintos soportes. Se fomentará la incorporación de materiales o imágenes aportadas por ellxs mismxs, con el propósito de adaptar el proceso a intereses personales y búsquedas individuales.

En la etapa final se explorarán posibles intervenciones sobre las imágenes producidas, reflexionando sobre cómo transformarlas, ampliarlas o resignificarlas. El taller concluye con una puesta en común y comentario colectivo de los trabajos realizados.

Cronograma

1. Presentaciones e introducción al trabajo del artista, su proceso creativo y el concepto de experimentación

2. Visionado y comentario de obras de otros artistas realizadas con la técnica

3. Definición de objetivos de trabajo por grupos

4. Experimentación práctica sobre diferentes soportes y con materiales o imágenes aportadas por los participantes

5. Exploración de posibilidades de intervención sobre las imágenes resultantes

6. Comentario final y puesta en común de los resultados

In this workshop, participants will explore cliché verre as a starting point for photographic printmaking, expanded through bleaching and toning techniques. The process combines drawing, contact printing, and chemical transformation to add both conceptual and visual depth to the final images.

Participants will work closely with cliché verre and cyanotype printing as a way to record and reinterpret the surrounding world. After producing the initial prints, they will modify them through toning processes using household and natural materials such as beets, coffee, green tea, and red wine, observing how everyday substances can shift color, contrast, and tonal range.

The workshop emphasizes toning as both a technical and conceptual tool, demonstrating how chemical and natural materials can intentionally reshape photographic meaning. Through individual and collective work, participants will gain insight into how material choices influence interpretation and visual perception.

Outline

1. Introduction to the cliché verre technique and its historical context

2. Cyanotype printing exercise: coating paper and producing a cliché verre negative

3. Demonstration of toning techniques and the range of tones achievable with selected natural materials

4. Creation of a collaborative large scale cyanotype combining participants’ cliché verre drawings

5. Wrap up, group discussion, and review of final prints

In this workshop, participants will approach darkroom printing as an active surface where material decisions and conceptual intent evolve together. Inspired by Surrealism, the Bauhaus, and abstract art, the session focuses on handmade negatives and experimental processes to shape the tonal, spatial, and structural organization of the image.

Each participant will choose a short keyword or phrase to guide decisions around exposure, contrast, masking, borders, and layering. This approach ensures that technical choices are directly connected to a clearly defined concept. The workshop aims to produce a personal mini series of three to five finished prints.

Participants will work hands on with a wide range of techniques, including cliché verre drawings on acetate, wax or oil translucency on tracing paper, text or stencil masks, and negative collage using layered film or acetate. The process also incorporates photograms and 35 mm chemigrams made with plant extracts, emphasizing the combination of multiple experimental methods within a single image.

Further stages include multi layer registration using pin systems, solarization through controlled light flashes during development, and refinement with masking, dodging, burning, and chemigram inspired resist techniques. The overall goal is to build complex prints through successive layers, interventions, and controlled transformations.

Outline

1. Welcome and introduction

2. Darkroom setup, chemistry preparation, and overview of contact exposure logic under safelight

3. Demonstration of all techniques: handmade negatives, collage, photogram, chemigram, solarization, and masking strategies

4. Creation of handmade negatives with test strips and first contact proofs

5. Integration of photograms, solarization, and chemigram-inspired resist interventions

6. Multi-exposure, registered printing combining two or three layers

7. Refinement and production of a final personal mini-series, followed by group review and discussion