“5 Buds” copper plate soft ground etching, 6x8

Here’s my attempt to explain how I made this etching, to distinguish this process from a typical reproduction of a drawing.

In the soft ground intaglio process, a soft, sticky ground is applied to a metal plate, and then I draw on a sheet of paper placed over the plate, pushing the paper into the ground and causing it to lift in areas where pressure is applied. Then some magic happens when I put this piece of metal in an acid bath and my soft lines burn into the metal. I reapply ground and do that whole thing again until I get the contrast I want in the final print. Once it’s at that point I scrape oil based ink all over the metal, causing ink to land in the areas touched by the acid, wipe away excess ink, soak a specific type of paper which has sizing glue in its fibers, and run it through a very tight press. Xxxxooo