1. A mirror finish copper plate is cleaned and polished.
2. Acid resistant liquid wax ground is applied to the plate and allowed to dry. 
3. Using a sharp needle, and preparatory sketches as a guide, the drawing is done directly on the coated plate, scratching through the varnish and exposing the copper underneath. 
4. The plate is immersed in an acid bath, which will eat away the copper where it is exposed. The longer the plate is etched the deeper and wider the lines will become and the darker they will appear when printed. The plate is removed from the acid and cleaned so that a print can be taken to see how the plate is progressing. 
5. Etching ink is forced into the fine lines and crevices of the warmed plate. Then the surface of the plate is wiped with fabric, paper, and finally with the palm of the hand. 
6. The etched plate is placed on the bed of the etching press. A sheet of dampened 100% rag paper is placed on top of the plate and felt blankets cover the paper. 7. By turning the handle on the press, the press bed, etched plate, paper and blankets pass between the two large rollers which exert heavy downward pressure and transfers the ink from the lines on the plate to the paper. The pressure is so great that the copper plate is embossed into the paper. 
8. The paper is carefully peeled off the plate. A "plate mark" (an impression of the plate edge, countersunk into the paper) can be seen. This distinctive plate mark is characteristic of every original etching. 
9. The print on paper is a mirror image of the drawing on the plate. The plate is now ready for the aquatint technique Carol uses to attain various tones of grey. 
10. Particles of rosin are dusted over the same plate (with a density of about 50%). The rosin is fused to the plate with heat. Using a brush, Carol paints out areas that are not to be etched with an acid resistant liquid. 
11. The etching plate is immersed in acid as before. Areas that are blocked out with the acid resistant liquid will not be etched and areas not protected will etch. Blocking out and etching are repeated about 10 times to attain various shades of gray. The longer areas are etched, the darker they will appear when printed. 12. The plate now etched with line drawing and aquatint, is cleaned, inked, wiped and printed on the etching press as before. 
13. Additional work may be added to the plate as necessary - perhaps adding further line work to strenghten or darken areas, or smoothing areas with a burnishing tool to lighten them. 14. This intricate and time consuming process leads to a beautiful intaglio print that has a three dimensional raised line embossed effect characterized by greater permanence and quality of detail than the best pen and ink drawings. The print is placed between blotters for 3-4 days until the ink and paper are dry. For every print in the edition each step of inking, wiping and printing must be repeated exactly. 
15. After drying, the black and white etching is hand painted with the finest lightfast artist’s grade watercolors, making each etching truly unique. Transparent washes which contrast with the rich blackness of the etching, and vivid dabs of pure pigment which enliven its surface are added. The watercoloring is as vital as the etching in achieving the effect of light and texture which makes Carol Collette's images convincing impressions of the world around us. 
16. The etching and painting are complete now and the print is titled, signed and numbered in pencil. 
Signing and numbering prints is a relatively modern practice. The most common method used today is to record in pencil, on the left side of the print, the size of the edition and the number of that particular proof. For example, 143/450 means that there were 450 impressions in the edition, of which this is number 143. The signature usually appears at the right margin of the print. An Artist Proof is an impression not part of the regular edition. These usually become the property of the artist or his printer. Some may be sold along with the numbered edition. Such proofs are usually identified in the left margin (in place of a number) by one of the following markings:"Artist Proof" written in longhand, or "A.P." Each etching is printed on Rives BFK or Somerset Heavyweight, both imported heavy weight 100% rag papers. Ample borders are all around the image. |
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