ETCHING

Marks are drawn through a resist on a plate, traditionally either a soft or hard wax, which are then bitten into the plate using acid. The plate is then inked and printed using a mangle style press.

Hard Ground Etching- An etching produced by scratching through a hard wax rest, which is traditionally smoked to allow the artist to see their marks.

Soft Ground Etching- An etching produced by drawing onto a piece of paper that is in contact with the plate. The pressure of the pencil on the paper removes the resist, traditionally soft wax, from the plate. Acid is then used to bite the image into the plate.