I had the great opportunity of giving a workshop in Silverpoint for fellow artists at Vancouver Community Library a few weeks ago. It was a great experience. Attending were members of GNSI Guild of Natural Science Illustrators) Oregon Chapter, and several botanical artists.

We started out with a PowerPoint presentation about exactly what Silverpoint is, and what the materials are that one works with. I must admit, before I took a course at the New York Botanical Gardens, I thought it was some kind of printing technique, but no, it is the art of drawing with a stick of silver. It is part of a larger art form called Metalpoint, which includes several other metals that leave a mark on prepared paper, including copper and gold.

I had several kinds of paper for the participants to draw on, and the afternoon was spent trying out different techniques on different papers. It was such a pleasure to deal with professional artists who seized the new experience and ran with it. Every artist had a great piece by the end of the day.