short stories and my new best friend .....

I have been taking time in the studio whenever I have been able to this last week and now have a couple of weeks where I can probably find four or five days a week.  Thrilling.  And tiring - forget just how involved the etching process can be and how easy it is to mess up a lovely piece of copper.

I am pleased with this 'short story' though and have tried printing it in different colour ways.  I have yet to stick them down as I am going to experiment with some stitching which I hope will add to the design rather that complicate it.

Printed vertically, these etching plates remind me very much of landscape and bare winter trees.  When I was playing with the blending colour, I printed a couple of the plates horizontally and they look exactly like weathered  tree trunks and dry branches.  Had I intended to etch weathered trunks I probably could not have reached a result that I have now serendipitously!  Very pleased about that as I can then match with other plates or embossings and tell a different short story.

These are printed on Lanaquarelle 100% cotton paper, hot pressed, 300 gsm and I think I prefer it to the Arches Moulin du Gue -  though each different printmaking paper will have its own application.

Introducing my new best friend ... A gorgeous embosser that I had made and am addicted to already.  The minute it arrived I started embossing everything to hand.  "seb" - susan elizabeth bowers -  is my studio name and logo as well.