Beldan's technique: Copper Plate Etching

 

First Beldan creates the drawings on her etching plates using various techniques such as hardground etching and aquatint to create fine lines and tonal values.  Then she etches the drawn lines into the copper plate with a special etching tool. Once the plate is complete she applies ink. The ink is rubbed off the surface of the plate leaving it only in the grooves etched into the metal.  Finally, she runs the plate through an etching press, which prints the image off the plate onto paper.

Beldan specializes in a technique called chine collé, a technique that combines collage and etching. She makes a collage of beautiful handmade papers right on the copper plate when it is on the press ready to be printed. The papers and the copper plate go through the press together, printing the etching image on top of the collage and gluing the collage papers together.