DRAWING CENTER STUDIO

Line Fundamentals: Copper Plate Etching with the Échoppe
A 3-day Intensive Workshop with Koichi Yamamoto


August 14-16, 2026  (Friday - Sunday)

Friday, 6 - 10 PM - Public Demo & Artist Talk
Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM - Workshop
Sunday, 10 AM - 5 PM - Workshop

(1 hour lunch break each day of workshop)

Early Registration Deadline: July 11

[ REGISTER HERE ]

Tuition

Discounted Early Registration by July 11
$384 (Student Rate: $326 with valid student ID)

Regular Registration after July 11
$480 (Student Rate: $408 with valid student ID)

* discount student rates offered only with valid academic student i.d. We will contact you to obtain verification in advance of the workshop.




Description

Explore the expressive potential of line through copper plate intaglio printmaking. In this workshop, you will investigate how line quality, density, and direction can be used to create value, form, atmosphere, and visual meaning through drypoint, etching, and engraving techniques. Working from both observation and imagination, you will experiment with a wide range of mark-making approaches—from fast, dynamic, and gestural lines to slow, deliberate engraving and cross-hatching. Through hands-on exploration, you will develop a deeper understanding of how different types of marks influence the content, character, and visual impact of an image.

Special attention will be given to the échoppe, a modified etching needle capable of producing lines that vary in width, allowing you to create the illusion of value and volume through line alone. You will explore drypoint techniques and their translation into etched and engraved copper plates, comparing the unique visual qualities and expressive possibilities of each process.

Participants are welcome to bring existing projects to develop further or begin new work during the workshop. Technical demonstrations will include Chine-collé and à la poupée printing methods, along with discussions of historical and contemporary approaches to intaglio printmaking.

Whether you are an experienced printmaker or looking to deepen your understanding of intaglio processes, this workshop will strengthen your command of line as a fundamental visual element while expanding your technical and expressive vocabulary.

Class Size

Minimum: 8, Maximum: 12

AREA ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THOSE TRAVELING TO ATTEND

For those traveling to Cincinnati to attend this visiting artist workshop, there are many exciting or practical options for accommodations. For a special stay within a mile of Manifest's new facility, we would recommend checking with The Clifton House Bed & Breakfast* (https://thecliftonhouse.com), The Gaslight Bed & Breakfast (https://www.gaslightbb.com), or Six Acres Bed & Breakfast (http://sixacresbb.com). Alternatively, the 21c Museum Hotel is in the heart of downtown just four miles from our location (link). Many other common hotels are within a few miles of our location as well.

*The Clifton House will typically honor a special discounted rate for Manifest workshop participants when rooms are available.

LOCATION: Unless otherwise specified, all courses are hosted at Manifest's new facility at 'M1' in Clifton at 3464 Central Parkway (see map and directions below). Manifest's new facility provides multiple studio classrooms, private lesson space, a darkroom, a film processing room, a state of the art printmaking wing, and a multi-purpose lecture and class meeting space as well as on-site parking, grounds, and exterior spaces in which to relax, discuss, and make art. The studios are outfitted with professional equipment, furniture, and study aids.

Map to Manifest's M1 Studios   |   Studio Calendar   |   Darkroom Calendar

Works by Koichi Yamamoto

About the instructor

Koichi Yamamoto is an artist whose work merges traditional and contemporary approaches to printmaking through innovative explorations of process, material, and image. His practice ranges from meticulously engraved copper plates to large-scale monotypes and kites.

Yamamoto studied at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, and continued his training in copper engraving at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Poland, and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. He earned his MFA from the University of Alberta in Canada.

He has taught at Utah State University and the University of Delaware and is currently Professor of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.