Crackle Prints: Etching Technique

Demystify the etched crackle!

The crackle workshop will focus on creating copper plate etchings using the hard ground process. The crackle technique can yield a variety of cracked marks depending on how it is applied to the plate. You can vary the recipe to achieve small, medium or large cracks but it is a process with a mind of its own since the cracks occur naturally. You can paint or splatter this material to manipulate how the cracks will form and grow before etching them into the plate permanently. 

First, students will be guided through the basics of copper plate etching including hard ground, crackle and aquatint processes while creating their own designs. In the second portion of the class, students will be inking and printing their images by hand on a Conrad etching press. 

Artwork examples by Margaret E. Murray: https://artists.caprintmakers.org/user/margaret.e.murray/

Class fee: $160
Materials fee: $35

Materials Included: 

• 6”x 9” copper plate
• Choice of cotton rag paper for printing: white 300 g/m Hahnemuhle or 300 g/m antique white somerset 
• Use of studio expendables, including acid, rosin, hard ground, crackle materials, asphaltum, inks, whiting, tarlatan, rags, solvents, etc.