I posted this print when I first started the blog, but didn't write anything about it. Most of my friends and family know the story or source of inspiration for the print, so I'll not repeat that here; if interested, you could send an email. I note that on my computer, the colors are terribly bright but in real life, it's more subdued and relaxing to view. Don't know why I feel compelled to post my method in such great detail on this blog except to remind myself of how I did it for future reference in repeating the process. So, for non-printmakers, prepare to snooze. For fine artists who are interested in etching, maybe you can relate to all of these steps! Since I am feeling major guilt for not finding a way to actually print right now, this list temporarily pacifies me in recalling that once, I truly worked my tail off! That drive is in me, somewhere....I am hoping to rally after my upcoming vacation in sunny
Hawaii.
The Two for Mirth prints combined printmaking methods of etching called
intaglio and aquatint as well as drypoint and
monoprint methods. Intaglio is the Italian word for ‘below the surface.’ I made many trial color proofs before choosing the above favorite for a small edition.
Etching involves acid or
ferric chloride and a metal plate; in this case, zinc and
nitric acid.
To create this intaglio piece, I performed these steps:
• I cut the zinc to size with a metal shears and filed the edges to make for a nice emboss. Most of these prints involved at least 3 metal plates and two plexiglass plates, in layers.
• I coated the
zinc with an acid resist, also called a “ground” made of asphaltum. I used both soft and hard grounds in the making of this piece (soft ground allows 3D objects to make impressions that remain on the plate, whereas hard ground must be scratched through with a sharp tool to create a drawing. The soft ground yields like a footprint in mud).
• I soaked several large cotton rag papers in water, crumpled them in balls, and let them harden in that shape overnight.
• I unfolded the dried papers into flat crumpled lengths and placed them on top of the soft ground plate, then ran it through the etching press under thousands of pounds of pressure. OK I don't know how many really, but lots! What remained in the ground were crushed sheet marks or visible folds, like fabric, because the ground lifted up with the paper in certain places. This exposed the metal in places while 3/4 of the plate still held the ground resist that acid cannot bite.
• The plate was put into nitric acid for etching over many short and long stages over a period of weeks. Where the metal is exposed, the acid destroys it, creating the intaglio line below the surface. I proofed the plate to check it out before cutting it down to a square instead of a rectangle, and this was the first run:
Note: If you find my December 1, 2007 post you can see how I altered this plate, again in black and white, before the final color proofs.
Periodically I would take it out of the acid, rinse, and test the depth with my fingernail. The deeper the line the more ink it holds, or the finer the line, the more delicate the mark. For fine lines, I repainted acid resist so they would not continue to etch along with those that I wanted to go deeper, and this is what went in stages over several weeks and repeat etching sessions in the nitric acid.
• The main plates etched in the acid up to 24 hours total, with the first session being 15-18 hours. The ground was removed with mineral spirits.
• Inking the plate involves custom color mixing with a palette knife, modifying it with oils and gels to create the right body or viscosity. The ink is carded across the plate surface and pushed down into each intaglio line with a credit card. The excess is blotted with Yellow Pages, then wiped further with refinement using
Tarlatan, a heavily starched cheesecloth until the desired amount of ink is left.
• I repeated the above processes over and over until I liked the image, including the following:
• I used the aquatint process to create shading in addition to the lines (this method creates another type of acid resist with tree resin dust that requires an air compressor, sealed box, blown air, dust settling, and baking on a hot plate to fuse the dust to the metal–or the modern way with a can of spray paint. I used both methods. Where the resin or paint dots hit, acid can’t etch the metal. The space between dots is exposed metal which etches, making tiny spaces that trap hefty amounts of ink–creating the light, medium and dark shading).
• I paused and took a bunch of
Ibuprofen, some deep breaths, and carried on. Ha.
I further used hard ground and a sharp metal scribe to scratch very fine lines to expose metal for more etching and definition. I scraped into the zinc with a knife tool where areas etched too much, and then burnished it by hand until smooth like the original plate. It’s like erasing a mistake, but very slowly with a lot of elbow grease. It’s also a form of drypoint, which means drawing directly into the metal versus etching it. Drypoint creates a blurred pencil-type line instead of a fine-point pen line.
• Another zinc plate was made with soft ground, a hammer, and various chains from the hardware store. I smashed the chains into the soft ground to create random marks and pitting, then etched as above, and then manipulated more by hand with all of the same methods. This plate carried the red ink in most of the prints.
• One zinc plate was color-inked only for background, printed in the press, removed, and then re-inked in different colors just for the birds and leaf areas.
• Two
Plexiglass plates cut to the same size were hand painted for placement under the zinc plates when printing. I used these to create painterly washes and translucent layers. I wish I was more painterly, but this was my grand effort.
•
Fabriano Artistico was my paper of choice on the edition at least, and it was soaked for hours in water to remove the paper sizing (like glue). I love this paper like no other: it's primo stuff.
• The wet paper was blotted between heavy cotton, then laid on the inked and wiped plate and run through the press. The paper was lifted and the plates were transferred one at a time, starting with the bottom layers of plexiglass moving up to the last zinc plate with the birds. Each print took about 6-8 hours to make including ink mixing, wiping, painting, etc., of all five plates. Sometimes I could do two prints per day. Maybe I am counting pouting time for clean-up, my least favorite task.
• The plates press into the wet paper, creating an embossed edge.
• The final wet print was laid in a newsprint sandwich, sprayed with water, and taped to plywood. After several days, the ink dried and the newsprint pulled taut to make a perfectly flat print. Remove the tape, paper, and voila!
• It goes without saying that all printmakers are
obsessive compulsive.
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