Toru Sugita
Sunday, April 24 — THIS CLASS IS FULL
10:00 am – 4:00 pm PST
$165 Non-members | $150 Members
Materials Fee: $20 paid to instructor
Location: Arts Benicia Annex, 991 Tyler Street, #116
Levels: Beginning
Age minimum: 18
Minimum 5 | Maximum 8
Class description: Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate by scratching the surface with a hard, sharp metal (or diamond) point. Traditionally the plate was copper, but now acetate, zinc, or plexiglass, polypropylene are more commonly used. The deeper the scratch on the surface, the darker the ink will be at that point. This technique is directly applied and no chemical processes involved. In this class we will use polypropylene plate which is easy to scratch and the burr gives drypoint prints a characteristically soft, and sometimes blurry, line quality. As many masters such as Rembrandt did, drypoint is easily combined to other intaglio print techniques such as etching and engraving.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Toru Sugita, a printmaker and painter originally from Japan, is actively showing his artwork throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and Latin America. Toru is known for his black and white intaglio and wood engraving prints with strong architectural elements. His prints can be found in various public collections including the Achenbach Foundation of Graphic Arts in the Fine Art Museum of San Francisco.
Toru spent time traveling extensively throughout Latin America and the Middle East finally establishing a residence in San Francisco, California. Toru received a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from San Francisco State University and became actively involved in the community as an artist and an art educator for fourteen years. Toru is also known as the illustrator of award-winning book “Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines.” In 2006 Toru moved to Grand Junction, Colorado for a teaching position at Colorado Mesa University (then Mesa State College), where he focused on teaching in the Art Department and produced collaborative works with Matt Lindstrom, Professor of Dance. In 2009 he returned to the Bay Area as a faculty member at Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, California. Toru is currently in charge of establishing the printmaking programs at DVC. Toru is currently the Chairperson of the Art Department.
Instructor website: torusugita.net
Instructor email: tsugita@dvc.edu