This course is the equivalent to the technique, 'Soft Ground' in traditional etching. The technique was developed by Gerald Ferstman and adopted by Alfons Bytautas when he worked at Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop.

At Green Door, we have developed the technique and used it to achieve varied amount of different effects. A safe, alternative, wet soft ground is laid on the plate as textural articles can be passed through the press to take imprints, and/or drawings can be made (on their own/or as well) to draw out the ground, before the plate is then hardened and bitten. This method is a very loose, creative way to produce plates before finally printing them.

The results can be extremely interesting and impressive depending on the articles used to take the impressions, along with the composition used. The articles will give an overall high definition of detail in the finished print. This outcome can be highly desirable to textile designers, appeal to complete beginners to etching, as well as artists who wish to experiment and etchers who wish to learn new processes.


All materials and notes are included in the price of this workshop. No previous experience of printmaking is required.