Lithography, invented in 1798 by Aloys Senefelder, is a printmaking technique based on the simple physical law that oil and water will not mix. Lithography is a planographic medium. The stone or plate from which the print is made is completely flat. The artist uses a greasy drawing material to make an image on this surface; the surface is then chemically treated so that only the drawn image will accept the printing ink. The undrawn areas of the stone (by virtue of the same etch) will accept water. The non-image area must be kept damp with water while rolling ink onto the image area (drawing) in order to yield identical impressions. Although the solution used for this is called an “etch”, its effect is not to bite into the stone (as in an etching made on a zinc plate), but only to separate chemically the image and non-image areas.

As this course is welcome to beginners, it is largely a technique-based class, but the enterprising student should leave the course with a rudimentary understanding of stone lithography and the physical fruits of their labor in the form of proofs or a small edition taken from their own hand-drawn and hand-printed stone. Intermediate and advanced students will be encouraged to subordinate the hallmarks of traditional and non-traditional stone lithography to their own artistic ends under the guidance of the instructor.

What you will learn in this course:
- The physical preparation of a litho stone including leveling and graining.
- Traditional and non-traditional dry and wet drawing techniques for use in stone lithography.
- The basic, chemical principles behind stone lithography and stone processing for printing.