08/11/2021
I had an amazing weekend re-acquainting myself with etching at and lovely tutor Peg Morris.
When thinking about subject matter in preparation for this etching plate, I dug out a macabre little Tupperware box in which I collected bits of animal and insect bones and wings which I found over the years.
In there was:
a Jay underwing feather with iridescent blue, black and white stripes,
a few moths (mostly disintegrated)
A few Locust wings
A shedded snakeskin
A whole but now very fragile Dragonfly
A few amazing beetles.
Now this Dragonfly I remembered have flown into our house in Johannesburg (20+ years ago) and although I tried to let it out, it kept flying like the wind, bashing into doors and windows and eventually collapsed and died.
In honour of this beautiful insect, I named my teaching studio Dragonfly studio and some millennials here (including my own children) will remember the hot afternoon classes doing art projects.
How amazing to resurrect this beauty in a print - actually pressing the real wings into bitumen and wax in a “soft ground” and gently rolling it through the etching press. When it came to releasing the wings and seeing what emerged, most of it refused to budge and disintegrated on the plate. I put it into the acid bath to “bite” anyway and see what ghostly whispers were visible.
Amazingly many tiny veins and wing cells were visible and some disappeared (forever).
Next I worked with “spit-bite”, painting with acid and a brush, these are the loose painterly marks in the background.
A magical process which reincarnated something which flew and had life.
Think it may have been an Emperor Dragonfly because it had blue iridescent spots along its back and a blur of beating wings which were like mists of acqua.
I may still add a spot or two of colour.
Thanks for your patience and help , I’m back in love with etching 🙏❣️