Drawing for me is a calming process, slow and meditative.  The work develops gradually making subtle changes as the work grows.

Printing provides a different experience giving both joy and frustration as there is often an element of surprise as the work develops.  I had the pleasure of being able to work for 3 days last week in the print room at my old collage.  I took the chance to work on some etching plates in steel and to see how my recent series of drawings might translate into print.

Preparing the plates is a quite physical process in itself, both before and after the etching process, so different from just the drawing.  Then there is the magic moment of lifting the paper away from the plate after is has been through the press and the print is revealed.  It is only then that you can see if what you planned has worked.  If there is right amount of etch or appropriate inking, all are seen at that point.  There is just a different energy to this type of work and I’m sure it must eventually get transmitted to the images produced.

For the first time I also tried some carborundum work and really appreciated the tonal variation it can provide within an image. From the 3 days I came away with a range of prints some have failed others are perhaps getting near to what I’m after and as ever there is more experimenting to be done on another day.