An
etching is a print taken from a sheet of metal, usually copper
or zinc, into which the image has been bitten with acid. In a
line etching the metal plate is first covered with an acid-resistant
"ground". The artist draws the image through this ground,
exposing the metal surface, and then immerses the plate in an
acid bath. The acid etches away the unprotected metal, creating
lines which hold ink. The artist may use more complicated methods
to create different effects, but always relies on the acid to
etch the plate. Some of the images on this site have
been made using safe etching techniques developed at the Edinburgh
Printworkers Workshop.
Once the image has been etched into the metal plate the artist-printmaker
is ready to produce an image on paper from the plate. Firstly
the plate is "inked up". In the case of coloured etchings
there area number of techniques used depending on the desired
outcome. Most of the work here is created by mixing and applying
the ink locally to the plate. With one colour this is a relatively
straightforward process and in the past the printer would faithfully
reproduce the artist's image. When more colours are involved,
applying the ink is a creative process and integral to the outcome.
It is more demanding and time consuming (and therefore more expensive)
and hopefully more rewarding. Once the artist is satisfied with
it, the plate is ready to be put through the press.
The paper is specially made for printmaking and
it too is carefully prepared. It is "damped" by soaking
in water then placed between sheets of blotting paper to remove
the excess. This softens the paper so that when it is placed over
the plate and put through the press, the pressure forces the paper
into the grooves created by the etching process so that
it can pick up the ink the artist has applied. Thus when the paper
is pulled back from the plate after it has been through the press,
it has the image as the artist intended, miraculously and permanently
created and recreated.
