Intaglio
Etching
INTAGLIO
ETCHING
- Intaglio is a collection of printmaking techniques in which images are incised
into a surface. In my own printing, the plate is zinc, and marks are made beneath
the surface by coating the plate with a wax ground, and then exposing the surface
by drawing (scratching thru) with an etching tool, and this line is then etched
in a bath of nitric acid, which eats zinc. Other methods of making grey-black
tones include auqatint (creating a dot pattern-secret) and power tools (sanders,
drills). In other words, the smooth surface is made rough to hold ink, and then
the plate is hand printed through an etching press with paper. Simple.
(Click on image
for a larger view)
