Training in the Etching Studio

As arranged last week we met up on Monday 20th June as a group for our second training session: this week in the etching studio. On arrival Hannah was called into a meeting, therefore we was left alone to tackle the technician task list in the print making studio before her return: this was initially challenging as the whole routine and process in the studio is still fresh to us, but looking back through our notes we made the previous week guided us through what needed to be done.

On Hannah's return we gathered to the etching studio to start the session of training; this begun with a briefing over the Health and Safety again as the two other volunteers were not familiar with the rules and regulations that must be noted when in the room. From this we went straight onto the techniques and process of etching a plate alongside the equipment and chemicals, were Hannah demonstrated thoroughly with an example piece. I have done this in the past at college but it was helpful to have the reminder to refresh my memory. It was also interesting to see the different ways in which this technique can be achieved but because there is so much involved in each area of the etching studio a further training day will be arranged before we can use the equipment or guide the classes ourselves.

Once we felt confident after the demonstration; we spoke about the courses that are available to the public alongside the spaces available to hire. There are a number of classes that definitely seem appealing; all of them in fact. However I added that advertising the courses through a computer resource only is not enough as many may not check these web sites...I haven't seen anything on these courses before now which I think is a shame as they all would have definitely been helpful in my own practice. Therefore I offered to design an advertisement poster for the Bluecoat to place throughout Liverpool; especially in student areas, aiming to bring in more people and use the building for what it has to offer. Hannah and Emma seemed more than happy with me doing this and very eager and so this following Monday, I will be working with another member of the print making team 'Mike' to start putting ideas and designs together for the poster.