Materials for printmaking (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

If you have an artistic side but are leading a busy working lifestyle, you might often think about taking a class in something but never get round to doing it. The most difficult step sometimes is doing the research, so, to make things easier, we at the Indy have decided to look into things for you.

Printmaking, an art form that dates back to the civilisations of ancient Japan and early modern Europe continues, even today, to shift its paradigms.

Print is an indirect process, which involves covering a matrix in ink and rolling it through a high-pressure printing press, together with paper, to achieve a unique end result that can be reproduced various times.

Matrix materials vary from Aluminium, plastic and wood, to limestone, most of which can literally be found free of charge on a night hunt of some of Buenos Aires’ rubbish-ridden areas.

Lorena Pradal is a dedicated printmaker and owner of a workshop, AB Uno, located in the Villa del Parque neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.

Having studied the discipline in Argentina’s Escuela de Bellas Artes, she has completed several courses abroad and is often involved in workshops, exhibitions, and festivals with fellow printmakers from around the world.

Lorena Pradal works with a student at her printing press (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

Specialising in aluminium and stone, she displays some impressive examples of her work in her studio, where students find themselves transported to another world: one filled with inks, boxes, bars and tools.

Passion pours from her as she speaks about the endless techniques and inks that can be used. “Art is like life,” she tells one new student. “Some things work, and some things don’t.”

During her classes, students learn about the wide variety and origins of the materials used in print, the different effects it’s possible to achieve, and the ins and outs of the pressure-printing press.

Aimed at people who already have a basic idea of what they want to gain, her workshops are offered on a group or individual basis. New customers are invited in for an informal chat, free of charge, where they can discuss their goals, explain their ideas and also demonstrate their previous work.

Lorena’s level of expertise surpasses that which you need as a beginner and can be a lot to take in, but mother and daughter team Liliana Aleman and Nubia Ozzi offer a more laid-back option.

Inside their home in Balvanera, the two women conduct classes in which you can also acquire skills in a variety of printing techniques. Examples of their work hang from the walls of the studio, adding to an inspiring and incredibly friendly atmosphere, and with groups of only four or five people, all of their attention is devoted to the progression of their students.

The course offers options of traditional, experimental and non-toxic (acid-free) techniques, using woods, metals and plastics. So long as you buy the materials, you can choose to use whichever technique whatever you want.

Using aluminum to make an etching (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

Students vary in terms of age range and experience and, in the past, have collaborated with one another, as well as with Liliana and Nubia, to exhibit their work after mastering a certain level of technique.

As they work on new materials or await the result of something new, many are keen to show me their work from before. “When you draw, you more or less know what the end result will be,” explains Liliana. “But there’s always an element of surprise in printmaking. The result is always different, so, for me, the possibilities are magical.”