Solarplate with the Inventor: A One‑Print Experience with Dan Welden
Taking a solarplate workshop with Dan Welden at Washington Printmakers Gallery was a rare privilege made possible by the Washington Print Foundation. Learning directly from the inventor brings an immediacy to the process—quiet, focused, and deeply rooted in printmaking history.
I made one print that day. Just one. And it was enough.
Dan’s teaching encourages intention over speed, curiosity over output. Working slowly through a single plate—drawing the transparency, watching the exposure, washing out the image, inking and wiping with care—turned the print into a complete experience rather than a series of steps.
The workshop carried the spirit of Washington Printmakers: artists gathered around a shared table, learning, experimenting, and connecting across generations of technique. My one print holds all of that—the atmosphere, the guidance, the lineage.
A small edition of one, but a lasting impression!
-by Barbara Bitondo
