About Copper Intaglio Etching
A drawing held in Copper

Intaglio etching is one of the oldest forms of printmaking. A copper plate is coated with a protective ground, then drawn into with a needle. The exposed lines are etched into the plate, creating the tiny recesses that hold ink.

The plate is inked by hand and carefully wiped so that ink remains within those etched lines. Dampened paper and the copper plate are then passed through a press at considerable pressure, drawing ink from below the plates surface, onto the paper.

What draws me to intaglio is the quality of the line and the intimacy of the process. For me, etching is both drawing and discovery — a image slowly created backwards, and one line at a time!