#472 In the studio: Etching, the process, con't . . .

Start this series with Post # 470, October 16, 2013.

Below:  Next, a zinc metal plate is covered with a coat of varnish called an etching ground.

Below:  I draw the turkey design on the plate with a needle which cuts through the varnish and exposes the bare metal, without cutting into the metal itself.

Below:  I immerse the plate in an acid bath and the acid attacks the bare metal where I have drawn with a needle . . . thereby etching lines into the surface of the plate.  I sweep the bubbles formed by the aggressive acid with a feather - which is impervious to the acid - and time the acid's bite.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott