Workshops

BIG INK is back May 11 & 12, 2024!

• WORKSHOP: 9 am - 5 pm each day
• Public Viewing Hours: 1 - 4 pm each day

Join BIG INK at the Hopkins Center for the Arts for a relief printmaking workshop of epic proportions! Learn how to carve a woodblock under Lyell Castonguay, BIG INK's co-founder. Then, print your carving on a custom-built giant printing press. Individuals of all skill levels are encouraged to register.

Students follow an online masterclass led by Castonguay. Carve your design from the comfort of your home. A pre-recorded video series expertly guides you, and links in the class show you where to purchase the essential supplies, including wood and carving tools. If you have questions, Castonguay is an email or phone call away.

The workshop concludes with you meeting Castonguay at the Hopkins Center. You'll learn proper woodblock printing techniques, including applying ink to the carving you created at home. By the end of the day of in-person instruction, you will have multiple impressions of your design printed on acid-free paper. Other students will be present, providing knowledge-sharing and collaboration opportunities.

Castonguay brings a custom-built giant printing press to the workshop. The press is affectionately named The Big Tuna due to its size and strength. It is a precise machine that creates flawless woodblock prints. Workshop registrants receive three impressions from their carving produced by The Big Tuna.

 (one-day attendance for in-person instruction is required)

Workshop fee: $325

For more information and to register, please visit bigink.org.

In 2012, Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet founded BIG INK to provide woodblock printmaking workshop opportunities for people of all skill levels. As a result, thousands of individuals have learned how to carve wood by following Castonguay's online instructions, and numerous community members have attended BIG INK's workshops to witness the spectacle of the woodblock printing process.