Needling

You have come into the etcher's studio after the plate was coated with an etching ground--in this instance a thin layer of asphaltum. Plastic adhesives are also used that will resist the action of chemicals with the copper plate, such as acids or other mordants. You can see how both liquid and plastics were used in coating the plate.

Needling is generally thought to be the second of three steps to making an etching. The last step--the actual etching with a chemical--requires that the coating (or "ground") of the plate be scratched or removed to reveal the lines and areas in metal to be eaten away. Some people equate needling to drawing on the plate.

The artist's style for the image and even his or her way of working influences all three of these interdependent steps. In the two photos below you can see a plate being needled by this artist, working on a plate he calls, "Arborescense."

Not all etching work is "close" work, but traditional line etching work tends to be highly detailed. The artist needles with a sharp steel point, holding a magnifier in his left hand while drawing lines with his right.

Close-up, you can see the fine lines from the sharp needle. You may also be able to detect the engraved lines that are sealed off from the etch and which criss-cross the etched lines.

The photos above illustrate the second of the three steps of plate-making by etching copper. Coating the plate was the first step. Next is the biting of the plate, with a mordant. The "biting" gave rise to the name, etching, similar to the Dutch word which means "to eat."

Are you a first time visitor?

You may have come here as the artist is part-way into this process. This is only the second page that is ready for visitors. Etching takes time--several hours and even days to coat, needle, bite, and, sometimes, start another cycle. It provides time for the artist to reflect on this in the Living Prints series and to answer questions on-line.

Footnote:

Robert Grudin, author of "On Dialogue" (Houghton Mifflin, 1996) described the creative process. This happens in printmaking and what may be what gives vitality to Living Prints: He wrote "One of the most mysterious elements in the creative process is the ever-changing relationship between artisan and artifact. Though that relationship might seem a simple one (as in artisan=maker, artifact=thing made), it is in fact a subtly reciprocal process, in which the artifact, once begun, takes on an independent identity that influences the artist’s creative strategy and technique. Artistic creation can thus be viewed as a cybernetic or feedback interaction that continues until the work is complete." (P. 60).

	Artist's Diary	The artist provides the vision and imagery of the living print, laboring after the compelling image.
	Curator's Log	The curator is seldom seen but is always seeing to it that the living prints' records are correct and rules followed.
	Printer's Notes	The printer performs many tasks to keep prints alive, crafting and designing solutions to problems the artist, curator and publisher propose.
	Publisher's Journal	The publisher produces the bases for living prints by supporting all the players and keeping communications clear and on course.
	Professor's Papers	The professor explains the living print, the history of printmaking, and keeps the academic community informed.

©1999 Bill H. Ritchie, Jr. ritchie@seanet.com