Prints

Etching and woodcut prints both involve two-dimensional and sculptural concepts.
-Dale Conner

Intaglio

Intaglio is a printmaking technique where lines are incised into plates of copper or zinc. A “resist” substance, called a ground, is applied to the plate, drawn into with a sharp stylus, and etched with acid. The result is an image with areas that either hold or refuse ink, and the inked image is transferred to paper via the printing press. This process has been seductive for me since I pulled my first print over fifty years ago. A Few Words From the Past and Detachment are examples of intaglio prints.

Relief

Relief printing is the opposite of intaglio. Using what’s called cutting gouges, areas are removed from a wooden plank, thereby allowing the ink to be rolled onto the uncut sections. Making cuts in a piece of wood is what makes this printmaking technique cross over into sculpture, creating a feel unique to this process. Woodcuts have a distinctive look that is quite different from intaglio, and certain images are best created via this medium. Eric Blair (the author whose pen name is George Orwell) and The Red Head are examples of relief prints.

Printing both intaglio and relief prints carries with it a multitude of possibilities and problems, an avenue for one’s own personal expression.