Painterly Prints: Sugar Lift for Copper Plate Etching

Instructor: Nichol Markowitz

Date: 7/16/26 & 7/23/26 

Time: 6PM - 9PM

Class fee: $250

Materials fee: $25

Sugar Lift is an etching technique, used in combination with aquatint, whereby a water soluble sugar solution is used to create expressive painterly marks that can be etched into copper. In the first session, students will learn how to prep their plates, transfer their image, make and apply their own sugar lift solution, and coat their painted plate with a liquid resist. The second session will cover how to “lift” the painted design from their plates exposing the copper underneath, apply a rosin aquatint, etch their plates, and print their original designs with oil based etching ink on Somerset cotton rag paper on our Conrad etching press. Students will leave with a small printed edition of their own design. No experience necessary, open to all skill levels.

Materials Provided:

• 6” x 4.5” copper plate

• sugar lift solution

• liquid hard ground

• rosin

• degreasing materials

• cotton rag paper

• etching ink

• use of studio expendables: solvents, rags, acid, tarlatan, newsprint, etc..