Approaching Storm
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This etching was created by Susan between 1987 - 1990 at the Open Studio Print Shop in Toronto.
The edition number is O/P (Open Studio Proof). The edition has long since sold out.
This original multiple has been framed with a wooden frame which has a gold finish and a slight red undertone. The face is 0.75 in. wide, the frame is 1.25 in. deep.
The artwork is framed with archival materials and UltraVue® UV70 Glass which virtually eliminates reflections and filters up to 70% of UV rays. The framed dimensions are 16.5 x 31 in.
Etching is an intaglio printing 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. The lines in the image appear where the ink is trapped in the incisions the artist made.
Colours in an etching may be achieved by using different etched plates for the colours or by using a method called “à la poupée”. Or the artist can choose to use a combination. This piece was created with 3 plates and 6 colours inked on the plates.
Where different etched plates are coloured, 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 the 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.
