Canary Islands

RESIDENCY

Electro-etching Residency with Alfonso Crujera 2016

During this residency with master printmaker Alfonso Crujera, Cornelius received the equivalent of a university course in electro-etching, expanding her knowledge, understanding and confidence in working with the electro etching process.

Cornelius was first introduced to electro-etching during a residency in the High Arctic, while she was conducting printmaking workshops with the local Inuit printmakers. She discovered an electro-etching system in the storage area, which she cleaned up and successfully used to etched several zinc plates.

In spite of early childhood warnings not to mix electricity and water, Cornelius become a pioneer in electro-etching, venturing into and exploring new territory.

The use of electro-etching by printmakers is very recent with a focus on replicating traditional etching on metal. I have already achieved excellent results. Now I want to push my research and discovery into unpublished areas in the service of an idea. I am presently experimenting using both plates in an effort to address my obsession with displacement. When electrical current flows through a sulfate between two metal plates the positive metal ions adhere to the cathode plate and negative sulfate ions are attracted to the bare areas of the anode plate reacting with the metal surface oxidizing and eroding it. An uncertain journey of metal displacement takes place as the electrical current galvanizes and corrodes the respective plates.

Electro-etching was developed by Thomas Spencer in the 19th century. We can only speculate as to why electro-etching wasn’t adopted as an intaglio option by the printmaking community. It is possible that there was a hesitancy to mix water and electricity and without the concerns about health and safety there was little incentive to learn a new way of working.

I think the time is now right for the adoption of electro-etching as an option for printmakers working with intaglio. It has a major role to play in contemporary printmaking as it replicates the quality of traditional etching, is safe, has no toxic fumes, and produces little residue requiring disposal. I am part of a movement in printmaking circles that encourages more environmentally responsible and safer methods of etching without sacrificing high quality results. This exploration has brought me to electro-etching.

For anyone interested in the electro-etching process, Alfonso Crujera has written and published an informative Electro-etching Handbook. Available on Amazon.