Polyline Press

Polyline to Print Workshops

Printing Workshop for Architects and Designers

Workshop 7, June 26-27 2026
Workshop 8, July 17-18 2026

These workshops coincide with the Pressure: Architecture, Process and the Print Studio exhibition at the Tin Sheds Gallery that ran from 11 June till 24 July.

Introduction:

Polyline to Print is an introduction to copper plate intaglio etching for architects and designers led by Kevin Liu @polylinepress where participants get to develop their own hybrid analogue and digital copper plate fine-art prints. This workshop has been held at Harvard University and at A83 (New York) and this will be the first time they will be held in Australia.

Polyline Press is seeking 6 participants to join us for one of two workshops which will be provided free of charge. To register your interest, please see application details below.

These workshops have been made available through the generous support of:

Description:

Each participant will be assigned a single 100x150mm copper plate and will be tasked with producing a small edition of prints by featured in the exhibition as part of the process section. Participants will observe the plate preparation process (cleaning, degreasing, hard ground coating) and plate scribing process (image transfer by the AxiDraw pen plotter). After that, students will each be individually required to ink up their etching plates and be able to print their images using the workshop etching press. Students will then be encouraged to rework and develop their copper plates by hand, adding additional linework, add tone, or burnish their linework if necessary.

Location: Tin Sheds Gallery, 148 City Road, Darlington NSW 2000

Questions should be directed to applications@polylinepress.com

Dates:

Workshop 1
10-4pm Friday, 26 June
10-4pm Saturday, 27 June

Workshop 2
10-4pm Friday, 17 July
10-4pm Saturday, 18 July

Closing Exhibition
2-4pm Friday, 24 July

Workshop Schedule:

Day 1: Friday, 10-4pm
We begin in the gallery with a viewing of the Pressure exhibition, showcasing and talking about the different printmaking processes (Intaglio, Relief, Screenprinting and Lithography) touching upon their history and how they are different or similar to etchings, followed by a viewing of past prints in the Polyline Press library.

The workshop continues with introductions to preparing linework and a demonstration of the digital AxiDraw pen plotter and how a plate is prepared from scratch.

By the end of the day, participants are expected to have a 100x150mm artwork ready, prepared as a PDF and ready for scribing onto the plate.

Day 2: Saturday, 10-4pm
In the morning, we’ll begin with preparing the plate for printing including filing and polishing. Followed by a demonstration of inking + printing. Participants will then spend the rest of the afternoon printing their own plates, trialing different printing methods and techniques.

We conclude with a viewing of the prints and talk about drying + preparing prints for sale or storage.

Day 3: Friday, 24 July 2pm(optional for both workshops)

Participants from both workshops are invited to return to the gallery for the close of the exhibition and to participate in a print exchange with members from both workshops.

Supplies:

All supplies are provided, including one 100x150mm copper etching plate, ink, consumables, and proofing paper will be availabel for use. Etching needles and other printmaking tools will be available for loan.

Please supply your own laptop and/or notebooks. Old clothes and closed shoes required. Experience with vector-based drawing in Rhino, AutoCAD, or Illustrator is preferred. Templates and artwork guidance will be provided for each attendee upon registration.

Application:

To apply, please register your details using the following link. Previous printmaking experience is not required. There are 6 available positions for each workshop.

The workshop is open to all architects, architecture students of all years, graduates, faculty, designers and artists. Open to students from all schools in Sydney.

Familiarity with vectorised artwork (not photoshop) preferred and artwork must be supplied as a PDF or DWG for the workshop.

Deadline for applications: 11:59pm, Sunday 14th of June.

Applications are closed.

Selection:

The shortlisting and selection panel will include the curators of the exhibition (Micropolitan Studio), Kevin Liu and select faculty from the University of Sydney. You are required to submit a small – A5 or larger work sample showing an architectural drawing in vector form as an example.

Participants will be notified on Friday 19th of June by 5pm.