Etching Workshop with UEL Students

On Thursday 24th October my A2 Graphics class took part in an etching workshop led by students from the University of East London. The workshop was to introduce us to a new technique, etching, that we could then use in our own work after the workshop. The etching process is quite long and you have to be patient. Below is a step to step guide on how I made my print.

Process:

1) Using a pointed etching needle, scratch your design onto a metal plate (unfortunately, we did not have metal plates so we used silver mirror board card instead). Make sure that the lines are deep enough so that the print is dark enough.

2) Once you have finished scratching your design onto the metal plate, you must push ink into the etched grooves.

3) When your design on the metal plate is covered in ink, you need to wipe the surface clean leaving only the etched areas retaining ink. If you want some places to be darker than others, you should leave some ink in that particular surface. If there are areas which you are afraid of wiping the ink completely, use a cotton bud in that area.

4) The actual impression is made with a copper plate press (similar to an old washing mangle with a large plank between the rollers). The plate is placed on the plank, covered with dampened paper and backed with three or four felt blankets. These are then passed through the press under high pressure so your design can be transferred onto the dampened paper to create your print.

5) Peel the paper off to reveal your etched drawing.

6) Repeat the inking procedure for each print.

Below are the images from my design during this workshop.

My etched drawing didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but I am still happy with the outcome. I would like to continue experimenting with this technique to improve my prints. The lines that I scratched weren't as deep as I'd like them to be, the ink is quite light; I think that this print would be more successful if the lines were darker.

I think that this workshop was useful for my A2 Graphics class as it introduced us to a new technique that we can use in our coursework. Although my design that I did using this technique was a response to Ernest Howard Shepard, the black and white nature of the etching fits with the work of Edward Gorey as Gorey's work is black and white lines using pen and ink drawings, which would look amazing in a technique like etching or mono-printing. 

A process like etching and/or mono-printing would help me to develop my ideas as it links to dark themes and it looks quite gritty and adds to the dark theme that I want to illustrate.