New etching
And how they are made
Salaisuuksista minä olen Hiljaisuus ~
Of things secret, I am silence
This diptych was originally just one long plate size 14x49 cm, but after I had etched the lines (in a balcony flower box since my regular acid tub was too small) I discovered that my aquatint box is too small as well and I had to cut it in half after all.
Luckily the sketch already had a horizontal line in it so it was like it was planned that way. Only the hand was intact.
The cut makes the two worlds more apart. When the plate was in one piece the figure was much closer to the underworld. Right next to it. Now theres more distance. One might wonder whats that about..
Theres a fine balance of simplicity and (abun-)dance of lines between the two plates.
The upper plate IS simple in my view. And I’m happy that I was able to resist my tendency to add more details.
Choosing the name was a several day ponder. I thought about the theme, like oneness and interbeing, a word that came across once again in a Jason Hickel book I was reading at the same time. But I felt the image was more about the act of connecting and the moments in nature (or in your own nature) when youre just still and present. And the simplicity in that act. The difficulty. The naturality.
This name was scribbled in my sketch book. Just like many things and words I find interesting on my scrolls.
Birds
If white bird resembles freedom and liberation and black bird is more in the wisdom end in the spectrum of bird symbolism, you could assume this image conveys the causation of time spent in silence, in connection, in the sream.
Printmaking
Most of my intaglio prints - under ‘Printmaking’ in my portfolio - are etching aquatints.
It means that the image is made on a copper plate with ferric chloride (acid) that corrodes the copper when it’s first covered with one of the two mediums (and varnish that protects the backside):
Linework is made with ‘etching ground’ you apply to the plate, heat it to make it stick, and then draw on it. Acid etches plate where the plate is exposed (lines). Later when you ink the plate, the color stays in the etched lines.
Tones are made with technique called aquatint. Fine resin dust is spread carefully and evenly on the plate and then melted on it with fire. The acid etches the copper around the small resin drops, creating a tone that covers the entire plate. You are able to control the lightness and darkness of the tones by covering the parts you want appear lighter with varnish. The longer you etch the plate in acid, darker the tones. Usually I make 5 or 6 different tones from light to dark.
Aquatint is usually made in a box. The box has resin dust in it and it’s turned upside down few times to make it flow freely, then the plate is placed inside the box, at the bottom for few minutes, and the dust sets on the plate evenly.
You can also make it by hand, but it’s really hard to make it completely even and the result isnt as good. And it’s not as safe. Even with a mask the fine dust spreads around. The box keeps it more under control.
Before cutting this plate in two I tried 2-3 times to make the aquatint by hand but I wasnt happy with it, the result was too thin and uneven.
When the plate is finished it is then inked and the image is pressed into a thick 100% cotton printmaking paper with a printmaking press.
Usually there is a series of prints made with one plate.
Editions can be small or big. Mine are max 50.
(short)History
Etching was invented 1500 and aquatint around 1650-1750.
Rembrandt is perhaps one of the most known early makers of etchings. In the 1600s he produced over 300 etchings in addition with all his paintings.