The Intaglio Techniques Studio has always occupied a special place in the structure of the Printmaking Department at ASP Katowice. Its tradition is made up of fine professors and artists. Names such as Aleksander Rak, Andrzej Pietsch and Stanisław Kluska form part of the studio’s history and delineate the long way graphic arts in Upper Silesia have travelled over the past decades. The studio’s curriculum involves a range of intaglio printmaking techniques. The strictness of traditional workshop does not rule out experimentation and combining various techniques, including the new media. A very important aspect of this process is gaining experience and finding one’s own trait that gives final shape to the individual graphic language. This singular trait opens the possibility of original, unrestrained expression of one’s artistic identity. Tutorials based on exercise, including making works under the teacher’s guidance, provide technical and intellectual training that prepare students for self-sufficient creative work. The studio’s curriculum provides 1st and 2nd year students with a basic directional training that consists in learning the theory and practice of classic intaglio techniques as part of the Printmaking basics course. For 3rd to 5th year, specialization resulting from the choice of studio and supervising professor is available. It provides only a general frame for the individual path of each student. Their skills and interests (including those not related to art), the experience they have gained during the course of their studies reveal different personalities, provoking intellectual activity and creative abilities. The structure of the department and openness of the studios invite a constant exchange of experiences. As such, they allow an intermingling of ideas that influence the creative explorations and experiences of students.
