New Non Toxic Printmaking Studio Opens in Kerikeri - Wharepuke Print Studio and Gallery, Kerikeri, Northland, New Zealand

Set within the 2 hectares of the award winning Wharepuke Subtropical Garden on Kerikeri's Stone Store Hill in the north of New Zealand, The Wharepuke Print Studio is a new non toxic printmaking workshop and gallery offering courses, workshops and exhibitions.

Run by artist printmaker Mark Graver and two years in the making, the studio officially opened in March with an exhibition of Mark's work and the launch of a recently published booklet 'Mark Graver - Paintings and Prints.'

Mark is a professional artist/printmaker who exhibits widely in NZ and internationally and whose work is held in many public and private collections throughout Europe, USA, Japan, Australia and NZ. He came to New Zealand from the UK in 2003, moving onto land that has been in partner Tania Booth's family since 1938.

Mark trained at Leeds Polytechnic (BA Hons Fine Art 1985 - 88) and then at Camberwell College of Arts, London (MA Printmaking 1995-96) where all the printmaking was done using traditional techniques and materials. He says 'I became aware of Keith Howard's work in the safer printmaking field when I worked at Intaglio Printmaker, a specialist printmaking supplies shop, in London, and later came to realise that traditional printmaking techniques expose the artist and the environment to a multitude of toxic materials. The safer printmaking promoted with the Non Toxic Printmaking approach allows for all the traditional techniques to be replicated with less harmful, but equally effective, environmentally friendly methods.'

'Since settling in New Zealand I have been researching and re-training myself in the new non toxic processes and now have a studio to spread these techniques from.'

It can be argued that nothing can be totally non toxic but the term Non Toxic Printmaking has been adopted by many in the printmaking community to describe a series of safer techniques and materials.'

'The studio set up is based on the work of Keith Howard, Henrik Boegh, founder of the Grafisk Exsperimentarium in Copenhagen, and author of 'The Handbook of Non Toxic Intaglio', and research carried out by Friedhard Kiekenben who invented the 'Edinburgh Etch' in 1997 at Edinburgh Printmakers.'

'Printmaking is a very inclusive activity and already links with other printmakers and studios from around the world are in place - since launching the web site I've had people contacting me from Australia, Canada, UK, Singapore and Bangladesh as well as from NZ and my hope now is that the studio can become a resource that is local, national and international fostering links through exchanges, exhibitions and collaborations. We hope to able to offer residencies in the future but that, as with everything else, comes down to funding. We are though arranging, with the help of Susan Fieldes in Auckland, for Dan Welden (USA), author of 'Printmaking in the Sun', to come and run a Solarplate workshop here in December.'

Believed to be unique in New Zealand in that it is completely dedicated to safer printmaking techniques the studio offers courses in a variety of non toxic techniques with the emphasis on Acrylic Resist Etching. Courses are open to all levels of experience from the first time printmaker to professional artists and are run as both short (day/weekends) and longer residential courses.

'As we have everything on site we are able to be flexible with course times and can tailor courses to suit. We have already had students from the UK and the USA working here. If a group (3 - 6) wants to arrange a course they can stay at Wharepuke Subtropical Accommodation, one bedroom, self contained Eco cottages set within the garden, and arrange their workshop times and activities to suit - we might even fire up the wood fired pizza oven for them! And there's plenty to do for any non printmaking travelling companions.'

The next stage in the development of Wharepuke is a purpose built gallery space which will showcase a select group of New Zealand artists with a connection to the area. These include Mark Graver, Richard Parker, Scott McFarlane, Mark Mitchell and Andy Kingston. The gallery will also be showing international printmakers and having open submission exhibitions in the future.

Further information can be found at www.nontoxic-printmaking.co.nz