Monotype Printmaking at The Church

The Church will host two upcoming sessions of “Open Studio: Monotype Printmaking” on Friday, March 31, and Friday, April 28. Both workshops are from 2 to 6 p.m. Led by local printmakers Samuel Havens and Susan Bachemin, this series of recurring workshops provides an open exploration of techniques unique to monotype printmaking and the exciting possibilities of this richly rewarding image-making process. The operation of the press itself will be handled by facilitators. Participants will be free to engage, learn, experiment and create with materials and methods offered on the studio floor of The Church. Each participant will go home with unique prints of their own creation.

The monotype is defined as a one-of-a-kind impression made when ink or paint has been manipulated on a plate (often plexiglass) and then run through a press with paper. This results in a unique and often surprising mirror image transferred to the paper. Ticket price includes all materials, facilitators and use of the American French Tool etching press which was generously donated to The Church by Seán and Tamara McCarthy. In order to ensure a great experience, space is extremely limited. Price per person is $200. Additional dates to be announced.

“Printmaking using this caliber of press is an incredibly inspiring and rewarding medium that many artists have never had the chance to experience,” said Samuel Havens, who is also an employee of The Church. “We are excited to offer this opportunity to artists on the East End.”

As a local artist, Haven’s artistic inspiration comes from his experiences and encounters in the world around him, focusing mainly on the connections between space and thought, exploring their underlying relation to one another. He works mainly in the mediums of intaglio printmaking and drawing. He graduated from SUNY Oneonta in spring 2021 with a BFA in studio and digital art. A practicing printmaker of over six years, his work has been shown publicly and privately across the nation, including being exhibited at the Center for Book Arts in Manhattan.

Susan Bachemin is a painter-printer and arts educator with a BFA in printmaking from Carnegie Mellon University. Since her first years at the press, when sought by professors who paid her to print their work, she has extensively delved into a variety of printing techniques, eventually designing, and executing her own site-specific silkscreen work from her New York City studios. She co-founded Ridge Street Gallery in Manhattan and the Brooklyn-based SB Studios design partnership, which led to numerous public and private paint/print commissions.

For more information about the workshops, visit thechurchsagharbor.org. The Church is at 48 Madison Street in Sag Harbor.