Intaglio printmaking is a process where an image is created on a copper plate by etching it with acid. The plate is then inked with a roller, lightly buffed, and run through a press to transfer an impression onto paper. In lithography, the image is drawn onto a prepared limestone slab or aluminum plate, gum arabic and acid are used to “fix” it, and the slab/plate is then inked and run through a press to create a print on paper. Using these traditional printing methods, the plate must be re-inked by hand for each subsequent print.
The man in the diving suit is my father at age seventeen. He died in a car accident when I was five years old, and I’ve recently been reunited with his side of the family after over four decades. It’s been a very wonderful and emotional experience. Click here to read the story surrounding the print and his diving helmet.
Michelle LaRiviere 