number 2 off the press
all images © 2014 Hannah Phelps
Yesterday, you saw a sepia version of this print.
Sticking to one color is a little difficult for me, as you can imagine, so I added color using a technique called "a la poupée".
"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."
This is one layer color printmaking, like white-line woodcuts, so it feels familiar. But the way the ink gets to the paper is very different.
number 6 off the press
White-line woodcuts are reliefs - the ink is on the raised portions of the block. When we apply pressure with a baren or spoon or a press, the ink from those raised areas is transferred to the paper.
In contrast, solarplate etchings are (like copper etchings) intaglio plates. This means that ink accumulates in small grooves and is then forced into paper under very high pressure. We really need a press to print.
To ink an intaglio plate, we cover the whole thing with color - smearing it all over the surface with a small card or our doll. Then, using a series of wiping techniques, we force the ink into the little recesses while removing most of it from the smooth areas.
If we are comfortable with a little bedlam on our plate, we can gob on as many colors as we want. These colors mix and spread out all over the plate when we wipe.
For this print, I chose three hues - brown, blue and yellow. I mixed some of the yellow and blue on my pallette to give myself a bright green. I mostly put yellow and green in the wave, blue in the background
(top) and brown on the bottom in the foreground rocks. After printing
the plate nine times, I had nine different images.
number 9 off the press
I knew this would happen and I like the surprise involved in this inking method. Which means I am going to keep printing them.