Tulips
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edition: 23/60
About Etching
Etching is an intaglio process. A metal plate is covered with a protective, acid-resistant wax ground. The artist then draws the image in the wax with a stylus, exposing the metal. The plate is then placed in an acid bath, which corrodes the exposed areas and creates furrows and troughs that will hold the ink. The depth of the etched lines is controlled by the strength of the acid and the amount of time the plate is exposed to it. After the ground is cleaned off, the etched plate is inked and printed.
Colours in an etching may be achieved by using a different etched plate for each colour or by using a method called “à la poupée”.
Where each colour has its own etched plate, the plates must be placed in the same location on the press to ensure the artwork is properly aligned when the work is passed through the press for each colour. “À la poupée” (literally, "with the doll") describes a method of inking intaglio prints in which two or more inks of different colors are selectively applied to different parts of a single copperplate. The inked plate is then printed in a single pass through the press. The method takes its name from the poupée (doll), the small ball-shaped wad of fabric that is used to ink the plate.
Vicki used the "à la poupée" method which provided her variations in colour for each of her editions.
