STATEMENT

I have recently returned to etching after a hiatus of many years spent working in other mediums. This time around, I am exclusively using safer materials and methods, forsaking the traditional hazards associated with etching due to health concerns. My new work on copper is done with acrylic based hardground, softground, aquatint, and stopout then etched with ferric chloride. I have completely eliminated the use of solvents and acids from my process. Grounds are stripped with washing soda, plates brightened with vinegar, and clean up accomplished with vegetable oil and simple soap and water.

TECHNIQUES

Drypoint

Drypoints are made by scribing directly into a copper plate with sharp tools, such as etching needles, roulettes or sandpaper. As the tools push into the soft metal, they raise a burr which will trap ink and print as a fuzzy line or tone when the plate is inked and printed onto dampened paper with an etching press.

Etchings

Etchings are made by first applying an acid resistant ground onto a metal plate, usually zinc or copper. I use either Z*Acryl acrylic ground or BIG (Baldwin's Ink Ground) on copper. Both are safer alternatives to the traditional asphaltum (tar) based hard ground. An image is scratched through the ground, exposing the bare copper underneath. The plate is then etched with ferric chloride in an enclosed vertical tank. The acrylic ground is stripped off with sodium carbonate (washing soda) and the plate inked up and printed with an etching press.

Mezzotint

Mezzotint is a drypoint process in which a sharp tool, called a rocker, is used to raise a burr over the entire surface of a copper plate to create a solid ground. The image is made subtractively by scraping and burnishing the ground to remove and smooth the burr to varying degrees to achieve a range of tones and light areas. The plate is inked and printed with an etching press.

Spit bite Aquatint

Spit bites are made by first applying an aquatint to a copper plate. Acrylic hardground is sprayed on with an airbrush to coat the plate with a fine mist of dots, creating a resist. When the ground is dry, I paint on ferric chloride with a brush to etch the exposed areas of the copper around the dots of aquatint ground. The tonal range is determined by the length of time the etch is left on. The ground is removed and the plate is inked and printed like an etching. This technique is used to create subtle tones and painterly marks. I sometimes combine drypoint and spit bite plates to make finished prints.

Chine collé

Chine collé is a method of gluing a thinner paper, referred to as the impression sheet, to a heavier backing paper during the printing process. The impression sheet is often a Japanese paper such as gampi, which is preferred for its lustrous surface and subtle color presence. The gampi picks up every nuance from the plate to create very fine prints. The impression sheets may be pre-pasted with wheat paste, dried and stored for later use.

Carborundum Aquatint (AKA Carborundum Mezzotint, Faux Mezzotint)

Carborundum or aluminum oxide grits are mixed into a slurry with water and used to abrade the surface of a copper plate. The resulting rich, dense ground is worked subtractively with burnisher, scraper and polishing materials creating tonal variations and light areas within the ground. The plate is inked and printed on an etching press.

Monotype

Monotypes are one-of-a-kind prints. To make the black and white monotypes, I begin by rolling up a smooth plastic plate with a solid layer of black etching ink. I work directly into the ink on the surface of the plate, manipulating and removing it with tools and rags to create light and tone in the dark ground. The image is created subtractively, working from dark to light. The ink is then transferred from the plate onto dampened paper under pressure using an etching press. The plate must be inked again and reworked for each print. No permanent marks are inscribed into the plate and so the image cannot be exactly repeated.

Monoprint

Monoprints are made from a plate with a fixed matrix, such as a drypoint on copper. The plate contains permanent marks which will repeat from print to print. But instead of printing an edition of identical prints, the plate is used to make monoprints by treating each print as an individual, by varying the ink color or by combining different plates together to create a series of unique images.