Liz Chalfin Introduces William Kentridge to Non-Toxic Printmaking

William Kentridge, etching in progress. 3 layers of coffee lift and drypoint. Photo copyright Liz Chalfin 2019.

I have been making prints for more than 20 years, and in the last 6 or 7 years I have practised non-toxic techniques to replace the practices and materials of the traditional etching studio, most of which were/are highly toxic (and capable of causing significant damage to the brain, skin, internal organs, and central nervous system).

One of the most valuable resources around for nontoxic printmaking is the website of the Zea Mays studio in Massachusetts. They have a research program for testing non-toxic processes, which they publish on their website. Each section contains the results of their methodical experiments, often containing as much as 20 separate and highly documented steps.

One of my many inspirations for etching is the South African artist William Kentridge, who has a lifelong and continued association with printmaking. To my delight, I just found out that Liz Chalfin, from the Zea Mays studio, has been working with Kentridge recently to introduce him to one of the newest non-toxic etching processes: the coffee lift.

Those two photos above show one of my own plates during a coffee lift preparation. I have blogged about this before, but here is a quick summary:

Instead of creating a sugar lift drawing on a copper plate using the traditional mixture of corn syrup and gum arabic (or similar), you draw on the copper plate with a thin dilution of instant coffee.
Once the ground is dry, you roll it up with Baldwin Intaglio Ground.
Once you've cured the ground, you "lift the drawing by immersing the plate in nearly hot water.
You apply an acrylic spray aquatint to the exposed copper.
Etch and print as normal.

Chalfin has blogged about this priceless experience with Kentridge -- here is the link. And here are a couple of photos of her working with the Great One:

Liz Chalfin and William Kentridge. Photo copyright Liz Chalfin 2019.

Restoring my Printing Press

I've just finished restoring and assembling my large etching press -- a six week process involving lots of rust removal, scrubbing with steel wool, and repainting. Here is a photo of the same kind of press from the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: And here is a short YouTube video of me testing the press, making sure the motor still works after nearly seven years of lying in storage:

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Brancusi in Plastic

Artist Mary Ellen Croteau is showing these columns made from recycled plastic cartons and lids in the window of the Columbia College bookstore on Michigan Avenue. They are a playful homage to Brancusi's "Endless Columns", with a serious environmental message for our times: Image copyright Inhabitat.com and Mary Ellen Croteau Mary Ellen also runs a wonderful experimental art gallery in a window space in west Chicago, called Art on Armitage . I will be exhibiting a mixed media piece there during August 2012.

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How to etch a linoleum block

Linoleum as a material for printmaking has been used for nearly a hundred years now. Normally, you cut an image out using special gouges similar to woodcut tools, cutting away the lino around the image you want to print. This is called relief printmaking, because if you look at the block from the side, the material that remains stands up in relief from the backing material. You then roll ink with a brayer over the surface of the block, place paper over it, and either print by hand or run it through a press. You can do complex things this way (for example, reduction linocuts), but the beauty of the process is that it is quick, simple, and direct. Incised lino block, from me.redith.com Etched lino block, from Steve Edwards A few years ago, I saw some prints that were classified as coming from etched linoleum blocks, and I loved the textures I saw in them. In the last few months, I've been trying to use this technique in my own studio, learning about it as one does these d

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