The Molino Rojo Workshop, created more than a decade ago, frequently hosts the creative process of more than a few artists. This week, the institution hosted the Sin proteínas Workshop of Playful Experiences (Without Proteins), which -promoted by the Zona Creativa Project- is part of the collateral program of the 15th Havana Biennial.

Las Tunas, Cuba.-26, curious to learn about an initiative that defends engraving, a technique not so often practiced in the Balcón de Oriente in recent times, arrived at the institution, and the reception was surprising. Several creators brought various works to life there, around a tórculo (an intaglio presto printting of metal engravings or intaglio to life.

According to Leonardo Fuentes Caballín, who runs Molino Rojo and also directs the Plastic Arts Branch of the Provincial Committee of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC, in Spanish), 15 artists embraced the idea, most of them without having experimented with this technique before.

"We want to keep this work alive beyond the event because printmaking offers countless possibilities and is also stimulating. We also want to awaken printmaking, discover new ways of doing things, and ensure that when we put on an exhibition, it's not just drawings, paintings, and sculptures that are on display. It is an opportunity to grow professionally. What makes a province with so many professional visual artists rich is that there is diversity in creation," said Caballín.

As we talked, some of his colleagues were drawing on paper (as a guide), others were tearing metal plates with a gouge or burin, and once these parts of the process were done, they were preparing to print the work.

Miguel Mastrapa, a native of Las Tunas who now lives in Spain, was happier these days. He confessed that it is not so feasible for him to cultivate this work there, due to the cost of the implements and the dynamics of modern life. However, he returned to remember, to create with friends, to feel like a complete artist, as he is.

"For many years we had been dreaming of having an engraving workshop in Las Tunas and this is the prelude to that goal. Talent, will and possibilities exist for this. The machines, which are the most difficult thing to obtain, are already available at Molino Rojo. There are engraving workshops iIn several provinces, and the Balcón de Oriente, which is a powerhouse in the plastic arts, cannot be an exception. That would also arouse expectations among the public. Printmaking is present in our everyday life; when we wear a T-shirt that says something, this is one of its expressions. It is so diverse, encompassing wood, metal, stone, radiographic plates, and other media. It is enough to create a matrix on a surface, which is then inked and printed, resulting in an image."

"Although I have 72 years of existence and 45 years of artistic life, I am here learning," confessed Eliades Ávalo, with the simplicity that characterizes him. "Mastrapa arrived and asked Leonardo: 'Do you have a sandpaper over there?' Things like that must be experienced, the feedback between artists offers new experiences. Besides, there's magic in the process," he continued while acknowledging Caballín unifying role and his exquisite nose for cultural projects.

"This is something new for me, as I have devoted myself more to painting and sculpture. However, I try to maintain my style when working in the abstract," said Gustavo Polanco Montero (Polankito). "Experimentation is important. We appreciate that," added Carlos Gutiérrez. "Spaces like this foster confluence, exchange, that's very healthy. I hope it continues; we need to revitalize printmaking. Besides, there are various types: woodcut, metal engraving, collagraphy..., and we have practiced the latter two in this workshop," added Nóver Olano.

Manuel Montero, for his part, said, "It's fascinating. We don't know the result until the end. In my case, I made a work in homage to the art critic Bárbara Carmenate, who left an indelible mark on our guild."

Like them, other authors joined the initiative; some, young people like Liset Gutiérrez, from the Hermanos Saíz  Association (AHS, in Spanish). Thus, among clapping hands, faces, abstracts, and other figures in metal, the intention to revive a technique that has been somewhat forgotten here but which is extremely necessary, was enlivened.