Monday 11th - Tuesday 12th January 2027
$225 workshop only
Mixed Media - Drypoint | Alexis Neal
This two-day Summer School workshop will explore a variety of mixed media approaches in combination with Drypoint. Drypoint is the most direct of all Intaglio techniques. A sharp dry point needle, a metal or plexi plate, are all the materials required. The image is produced by scoring the surface with a sharp needle to create a burr. When the burr is new, the print is ink rich, where you can create velvety blacks from cross hatching areas to delicate feather marks. The exploration of mark making will be encouraged, utilising a variety of tools and tones across the plates. The application of colour roll ups will be demonstrated and discussed thoroughly, practising multiple techniques. Chine colle will be an additional technique covered, adding an element of colour and collage.
Workshop Overview
Day 1 - Thoroughly discuss the fundamentals of drypoint, tools used in creating rich mark making.
- Inking up demonstrations and multi plate possibilities
- Continue proofing as the plates develop
Day 2 - Start the morning demonstrating colour roll ups and chine colle, adding an element of colour and collage to the plate images
- Continue proofing and experimenting with different techniques, working towards final prints on good paper.
Alexis Neal
Ko Ngati Awa me Te Atiawa me tauiwi ōku iwi
As a practising artist, Alexis’s work refers to issues of cultural identity and predominantly looking at the duality of artefacts, exploring personal adornment and material culture. Her studio practice is interdisciplinary, informed by indigenous techniques within a contemporary context and materiality. Primarily the backbone of her practice is the medium of print, but she also has a strong interest in weaving. The combination of these interests has made her push the print medium into three dimensions - weaving works and compiling multiple layers of colour and patterning, referencing the weaves of raranga whakairo and whatu tāniko.
Alexis graduated from Auckland University Elam School of Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Post Graduate diploma in 1999. She then went on to complete a Masters Degree in Fine Art Media at the Slade School of Fine Arts at the University College of London in 2000. In 2024 she completed a four-week intensive lithography summer workshop at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, a division of the University of New Mexico; a long-time bucket list that she wanted to experience to gain some professional development for herself. Alongside her art practice she has held tutoring positions in both academic and community institutions, working with the wider community.
The exploration of cultural identity, the value of history and the complexities of human connection are contemplated, to show how artefacts can be both personal adornment and remnants of material culture. Here, the Māori story is rendered with contemporary materials.
