Summer School prints.

Summer school students spent an afternoon working with printmaker Alan Birch at the newly refurbished Whitworth Art Gallery on Oxford road. Pupils looked at the large collection of portraits on display in the gallery, trying to work out background stories and personal insights about the people portrayed. Pupils then chose their favourite image, producing their own sketch. Students looked at a photographic piece by Chinese artist,Zhang Huan who covered his face with calligraphy which told stories of his life . Students then worked in pairs, producing portraits of each other , each one spending a short time being the artist and the model. These portraits were then engraved onto metallic card, creating incised marks on the plate which students later inked, using water based ink and a portable printing press. Once printed, students then used their works as a portrait to add information about their sitter. Students were encouraged to ask questions about each other as a means of getting to know each other These answers were written onto acetate, and then overlaid on the portraits. The final results mirrored the work of Zhang Huan, the printed image telling a lot about the sitter. The pupils work was displayed at the Graduation Day in August. Pupils Made new friends, made great work and now cant wait for September!

“Hi  Alan
I heard from Rachel and Serene that the session went really well and the pupils loved it.
Thanks,”
Jess ( Summer school co-ordinator Manchester Academy . )