OCA Big Draw 2026: Drawing Through Etching

Drawing Through Etching

This experimental drawing session will explore ways of making drawings by incising directly into paper surfaces. Borrowing from printmaking techniques, participants will create etched drawings and then reveal them through the application of powdered drawing materials such as graphite, charcoal and pastel dust. We will experiment with how the physical surface of the paper can become an active part of the drawing process.

What materials to prepare/bring:

• Paper: ideally thick to withstand being scratch, watercolour paper, cardboard, etc.

• Materials that can be crushed into powder: Graphite, charcoal and soft pastels Scratching tools: pins, needles, etching pens, anything that you can use to make scratch marks onto the paper surface.