Takuga: The Japanese Art of Botanical Prints in Ink and Watercolor with Sue Fierston

Explore the combination of printmaking and watercolor!  Use sumi or Akua black ink to hand print leaves, flowers, or vegetables, then learn how to paint these prints with watercolor. By the end of the workshop, you will have several colorful prints in the takuga style on a variety of printmaking papers. The supply fee includes a shikishi board for framing your favorite print. Bring flat leaves of many shapes in a zip top bag, and the instructor will provide leaves, too.  If you have your own watercolors, feel free to bring them along.

TERMS and CONDITIONS: This is an adult only class. Because materials are prepared for each participant, cancellations with refund minus the cost of the materials ($25) will be applied if cancelled outside of 7 days of the course. Cancellations not accepted within a week of the course date.     

Masks will be required. Food and drink inside the facility is prohibited. 

INSTRUCTOR: Sue Fierston is a printmaker and current president of the international Nature Printing Society. a worldwide group of artists who are dedicated to nature printing in all forms. NPS members print real fish and leaves as well as tree bark and spiderwebs.  Sue holds nature printmaking workshops in the spring and fall at the Smithsonian Associates and now for the Natural History Society of Maryland. When she’s not teaching, she’ss painting a series of antique microscopes for a show in October 2023 at the National Institutes of Health. Her prints and paintings can be seen on her website: suefierston.com and on Instagram at: @suefierston

In June 2020, Swinging Bridge Press published Sue Fierston’s book Into the Woods: Families Making Art With Nature.