New Printmaking Workshop Facilities at McClelland!

We now have a fully functioning Printmaking workshop in the Art Faculty where students have the ability to print etchings and relief prints (lino, woodcut etc.) to an industry standard.

When I started at the College last year I discovered some printmaking presses in a back area of the Art faculty that wasn't in use, and, having a background as a professional Artists Printmaker, realised that we had an opportunity to refurbish and repair both the presses and to transform the space into a significant asset for the students.

One of the etching presses, a very large M.E.S. (Melbourne Etching Supplies) press that has been at the College since the early 80's, is still in production as their top model. It looked like it hadn't been used in a long time, however, everything was there with the potential to be bought back to life. The next size down, a medium/large floor press, while having potential, had an acrylic rather than steel bed, and broken bottom roller. Our smaller bench press had some other challenges that also rendered it out of action.

We engaged Fitzroy Etching Presses, another world class press manufacturer, to carry out the repairs and refurbishment of all the presses. Some works were completed on-site at the college and other works were completed in the Fitzroy workshop. Stephen from Fitzroy Etching Presses, who carried out the works, also bought out the person who built the M.E.S. press in the early 1980's to carry out the final repairs and tweaks to the large press. It was a pleasure to see him reunited with the press he made all those years ago and to bring it back to top form.

Once the presses were repaired and the space was refurbished, which included relocating cabinetry, redoing walls and ceiling and bolting a press to the floor (thanks to Gary Hofert), we were ready to get printing.

While all our art teachers have done printmaking in the past, myself having done so professionally, I ran a Professional Learning session for the whole team so that we are all on the same page with the potential, and use, of the resources.

For the students, our initial introduction to printmaking has been in the Art MAP this term, beginning with foam and lino printing ( both forms of relief printing). This will culminate in creating etchings (intaglio printing) towards the end of semester where students will use the etching presses and resources in our new workshop.

As of next year, the Art Faculty are offering stand alone courses in the three main disciplines of Art; Visual Art, Visual Communication and Design, and Media in Yr 9/10 (amazing work by Ms G in this area!). To date these three disciplines have all been covered within the one Art course. These new offerings will provide the opportunity to expand our courses to integrate printmaking in Year 9 and 10 and this can of course can flow on to VCE levels, where standalone subjects in Visual Art, Visual Communication and Design, and Media are offered.

This is an exciting time in the Art Domain with our new resources, new courses and a really dedicated team of art teachers. We look forward to sharing some of the student's prints with you in the future.

Mr. Simon Rowley