23/11/2017 - PRINT WORKSHOP WEEK 3

In week 3 of our workshop we were going to begin the second part of our process; creating an etched print to go inside of our glass jars. Having never done etching before, I felt excited to learn the process. I had already come in briefly in the week to prepare my transparent positive, a simple matter of turning my source image into the required format as we had done in screen printing before. In doing this I had hoped that I would have a head start and need to rush the process less in the workshops.

After a brief description of what we were about to do, and on the importance of 'grease management' to allow a succesful acid etching, we began. The first step was that all important grease management, and degreasing our metal plates. Using chalk, vinegar and cleaning fluid we buffed our plates and made our best attempt to get the surface entirely grease free. Next the plates were gently but thoroughly dried infront of a heater before we could add the emulsion layer.

The emulsion underwent a similar process to screenprinting, and required application in a darkroom under redlight, directly onto the copper plate itself with a roller. After this unfortunately not only did the plates need time to dry, but also the exposure unit bulb was broken until potentialy Thursday so we couldn't work on our etchings any further.

In this instance my attempt to get ahead had actually not brought me any time at all, and my eagerness to get working was being hampered by the length of the process, so wanting to remain proactive I went into my studio to create air dry clay bases for my cystals. I tried not only standing up single crystals, but also clumping multiple smaller crystals at the base to create jagged rock like lumps in a variety of naturalistic forms. By this stage I was starting to have enough elements to begin to get an idea of what my outcome would look like, and enjoyed arranging all of the pieces to consider potential effects. I wanted the crystals to both point towards and jut away from the structure in the middle, making the central spines seem to bend inwards, as if communing at it's base, and those further out begin to point outward, like bristling protective spines.