Etching (Please see Summer school for dates & costs)

An introduction to traditional etching, using beeswax grounds, (hard & soft). You will also learn how to ink your plate á la poupée (inking one plate up with many colours simultaneously).

The aim of this course is to learn the basic techniques of intaglio printmaking, meaning to print from incised lines etched into metal with acid (etching). The plate is covered in an acid-resist wax ground, then using an etching needle the image is engraved into the ground revealing the metal underneath. The plate is then submerged into a bath of acid, and the acid bites into the surface of the plate where the metal has been exposed. Biting is a printmaking term to describe the acid’s etching, or incising, of the image.

The length of time and strength of the acid is determined by the type of metal used (zinc, copper or steel) the ground applied, or the depth of line required. When the plate is sufficiently bitten, the plate is removed from the acid bath and the ground is removed revealing the etched lines and un-etched areas (whites) that were protected by the ground.