Wildacres Fine Art Retreat
Little Switzerland, NC
Join us for a week-long, immersive creative retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This almost all-inclusive experience covers all costs of instruction, lodging, daily meals, and optional morning yoga.
Schedule of Daily Activities Preliminary Printmaking Workshop Art
Materials to Bring Gallery of Images at Wildacres
What’s Included
September 14-20, 2026
Learn relief and stencil printmaking techniques
with Sara Jones and Olive Roberts
Mini-Workshop: Designing for Stencil and Relief Printmaking
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Friday, August 21
$40.00
Printmakers Sara Jones and Olive Roberts will team-teach a 3-hour workshop on how to design for stencil and relief printmaking processes, specifically tailored for beginners! Learn how to design and hand-cut stencils for pochoir and screen printing, and how to create relief prints using soft rubber stamps. Students will leave with a completed relief stamp and knowledge of how to further explore these processes in their own practice and at home.
Art Materials
Start with the materials you own. If you are new to plein air painting and portrait painting, the list below will specify the items you'll need to bring with you.
For plein air, figure and portrait painting
Floor easels will be provided for the figure/portrait painting.
- Foundation pigment oil colors: (titanium white, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, viridian green, sap green)
- Brushes (various sizes of long-handled, synthetic or bristle)
- Canvas or panels sized 8" x 10" to 16" x 20" (primed for oil painting)
- Mediums (linseed oil or other painting medium, turpentine or odorless mineral spirits)
- Palette knives
- Paper towels, rags for cleaning
- Plein-air easel such as a French Field Easel or a Pochade Box
Beginners should follow this illustrated supply list for the basics.
For figure and portrait drawing
Floor easels will be provided.
- Vine charcoal small pack of soft or medium hardness
- Compressed charcoal sticks small pack of various hardnesses
- Kneaded eraser
- 18" x 24" newsprint pad (50 sheets for multiple quick gesture drawings)
- 18" x 24" white bond drawing pad (usually in pads of 25 sheets)
- drawing board or thin plywood cut to size of paper
- two large binder clips (for attaching paper to plywood drawing board)
- 20" x 26" Wallet Portfolio (for holding your drawings)
Linocut Printing
We're still determining whether or not presses will be available for speeding-up the printing process with a relief printing press
- Pixiss 4-5 Pieces Rubber Carving Linoleum Blocks 4"x6" Kit with Tools
- black ink will be supplied, but you can bring your own oil-based relief ink color
- paper: 11 x 14 mixed media paper pad * other options will be discussed and e-mailed to enrollees
Stencil Printing
The Silkscreen or pochoir printing project will involve two colors. An optional workshop will be scheduled Friday, August 21, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.