Triptych

Three small plates, of which the bottom two were originally one till I cut it in half, printed together on the new etching press.

They make an enigmatic statement , no?

New etching press, first print!

Just got my new etching press, and pulled a test print using a plate I had started at a workshop last spring. The drawing itself is no great shakes, but the print quality far exceeded my expectations given the number of variables (pressure, paper wetness, ink consistency, etc) any one of which can scuttle the whole operation.

The press is an RLV A3 size (12" x 17") bed, from South Africa. I've been gradually working up to this investment for some time, starting with drypoints on plexiglass printed by rubbing with a spoon or baren and then tiny etchings printed with an Open Press Project press. I need to get or make a few more things to actually etch larger pieces but then I should be turning out prints up to 8" or 9" wide.