Paper Ponderings: Preparing to etch

Barry and I have been working towards a "big etch day". Barry had built an etching bath that could accommodate large sheets of aluminium (80cm x60cm). He had salvaged some aluminium sheets and cut them to size for three standing aluminium books we planned to make for the Compassion exhibition. We had decided on words and imagery, and then it was over to me to bring them onto the 'pages'.

And then, we could make up the big bath and etch them.

So here they are standing ready for me to begin work on them.

I had to work out how much of the 'page' would be seen, and thus how large the writing could be. Would the words be the same size? or some larger/smaller? Where would I position the words? How would the position relate to the cover imagery?

I started drafting using two lead pencils taped to gather. I always like how this approach shows you the building blocks of the letter - where the lines really go.

You can see a hint of the cover image on the reverse of this page.

At first I outlined the words in a thick pen; planning to rub and trace them onto the metal.

Then in a light bulb moment I wondered if they would transfer using carbon paper? So much quicker, cleaner and easier than having to create a tracing.

And they did!

I had originally planned to use shellac as a block out; but remembered Barry had successfully used these paint pens before and wanted to see if I could maintain accurate lettering with the pens, and I was pretty pleased. It somehow feels far more natural for me to use a pen than a brush.

And of course, once you have an etching bath going you really want to etch everything in sight, so I created a few small, fun plates as well.

We also needed to etch a reference plate for a piece of work Barry had done a year and a bit ago, so I wrote out the details and we etched that as well.