In July 2024, I returned to Joan Miró’s printmaking workshops (at the Fundació Miró in Palma, Mallorca) to try my hand at stone lithography and aluminium-plate lithography, led by Spanish artist and printmaker Elena Carrasco.
After studying fine art, Elena decided to focus on printmaking techniques, focusing on lithography specifically. After studying at the Tamarind Institute in New Mexico, she returned to Spain and finally set up her own lithography studio, La Litográfica, in Madrid.
During the nine-day course, Elena introduced us to lithography on both stone and aluminium. We learnt about the history and theory behind the technique, and then applied our newly acquired knowledge to reproduce our own works on both surfaces.
The amount of information and the steps involved (lithography is very process heavy, as it turns out) were quite overwhelming to start with. But as we put into practice everything we’d been taught, it all started to come together.
It was also very special to use the massive but beautiful French wooden lithography press that Miró himself used to print with. The lithographic stones have a wonderfully tactile nature, edges stained with ink as a physical reminder of the artists that have used them before (even though the image has long been removed).
We discovered that lithography is also a real team effort, from reminding each other of the next step to helping keep the stone damp while inking up between prints. The other thing I’ve loved about both courses I’ve now been on here is the truly supportive and encouraging atmosphere, thanks to both other participants and the course leaders.
My next posts will reveal what beginner’s luck (and first-class teaching!) helped me to create using stone lithography and aluminium lithography techniques.
