Practical - Etching

I spent the afternoon in the print room doing some dry point etching. I've never tried it before at all and after doing lino for so long it was difficult to think in reverse. i.e. relief print vs intaglio print. I picked an image I'd seen in the beginning of Haxan but sketched it out in my own way.

The process was pretty tricky (especially considering I hadn't removed the clear plastic film from the plate to begin with, whaaat an idiot. But anyway I hadn't done much so I'll breeze over that.) Trying to get smooth lines was difficult - I didn't want them to be perfect but I wanted to avoid an overly scratchy effect. When I pushed the tool through the plastic, some directions felt smooth, and some felt rough, so my line quality wasn't consistent. Although, looking at old woodcuts and considering the crude images of the old chapbooks - perfect lines weren't important. There was a particular kind of aesthetic that appears in a lot of Medieval / Early Modern imagery - rough lines, inaccurate proportions, with a focus being more on the message / concept of the illustration, rather than the quality.

(Of course, there are also some really beautiful, detailed works that required a great deal of craft and precision. Like Durer's Apocalypse series.. which I thought were etchings because of the level of detail and the suggested range of tones, but they're woodcuts:)

Durer, 1498

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/19.73.209/

Etchings on the other hand are usually really detailed, and capture form and light well. I wasn't under any illusion that I was going to achieve something like this though, so I stuck with the less detailed approach. 

It was hard to see the lines that I'd cut, unless I could get them to catch the light, so there were some areas that were far rougher than others. At a point, I felt like it looked as though a kid had etched this, but this project is about research and exploration. So my method is all about trial and error at this point, in order to learn about the process and develop my skills.

I attempted a bit of cross hatching, which wasn't brilliant. But I've learnt a fair bit about what can be achieved with the process. I tried out some areas of detail, along with simple line work and experimented with the tools as my prints went along.. although I didn't really know what I was doing with the roulette but wanted to see what effect it gave. I wasn't too impressed because I think I'd used it totally wrong.. Plus I got some feedback from Mike, who politely said he preferred the stark white background with the solid image. I think it was code for "you've wrecked it". But it's all experimentation.. 

I think I'll watch some YouTube videos on how to use the different tools for future reference.

The interesting thing about etching is that because it's easy to keep printing, then altering the image, then printing, then maybe carving some more.. I can see the development as I create more prints. There's a sense of sequence through the process. The prints that I made only really demonstrate me trying to get to grips with the method, but I imagine that I could make a whole series of prints that develop as they go on. 

Also, it would be interesting to see how the same image could look if I created it as a lino cut, considering my skill set is more developed in this area. 

I'm a bit concerned at the minute about my direction with my practical work though. My initial idea was to focus on the printmaking methods relevant to the Early Modern period in Europe, and to attempt to create illustrations reflecting the attitudes towards witchcraft at that time... 

Maybe now that it's been recommended that I have a contrasting contemporary element, I could also reflect this through more modern print methods? Or modern attitudes / depictions of witches and demons, illustrated through the historical print methods.

...Maybe I could almost tell a story about the development of the attitudes toward witches / demons etc through etchings that develop from the same plate .. Or that could be a terrible idea. But hey it's an idea.

I'm hoping that I'm being realistic in thinking that I could get good at etching over the course of the module... I have like 10 or so weeks to get bloody good. Maybe this is too ambitious, and I should focus on lino printing. 

I'm aiming to get into the print room again to try out more etching. Aims for next time:

- I'll ask about better ways to transfer images onto the plates, instead of a hard-to-see rough pencil sketch that I had today.

- I'll test different paper to see how it may change the aesthetic or appear more appropriate to my subject.

- I'll test smaller areas / images, and prepare illustrations before I go

- I'll experiment with line weight / tone / texture

I think I should try out etching a few more times and be brutally honest with myself in regards to whether I think it's a realistic option for my practical outcome. I know it's about research, exploration and experimentation, but I really want to produce something of quality that I'd be proud of....aka not the etchings from today.