Working proof for Fire

In a year-long process, artist Josephine Halvorson explored the intricate multistep process of creating a sophisticated colour print with Wingate Studio and master printer James Pettengill in New Hampshire. The relationship between the artist and master printer has a rich history, critical to the foundations of printmaking itself. The master printer’s expertise and technical knowledge of certain processes are critical to guiding the actualisation of an artist’s work, both physically and aesthetically. “Fire” is Halvorson’s first etching and her painterly background, affinity for everyday objects, and close in-person observation is evident in each step of the process. The wood-burning stove is located in the printmaking workshop and is a Jotl, a brand that Halvorson’s parents sold during her childhood. She experimented with a variety of techniques including: drypoint, soft ground etching, aquatint, spit bite, sugar lift, modifying the copper plates repeatedly. After each modification, an image, or proof was printed, its visual effects analysed, and subsequently revised.

All five of the plates, four isolated colour (81.13.2021-81.20.2021) and the soft ground were printed together. Colour aquatint, a specialty of Wingate Studios, is especially well-suited to exploring a range of tones and painterly effects in vivid juxtaposition. Plates are etched and then submerged in acid for a set amount of time, repeated, and then result in varying shades. Pettengill added notes on the resulting proof to indicate how many steps, or the amount of time the plate needed to be submerged in the acid bath, of a given colour need to be added in order to achieve the painterly effect Halvorson desired. The proofs, 43 in total, will serve as a valuable teaching tool at the MFA as they demonstrate the varied and nuanced effects of each technique, while annotations reveal how essential dialogue between artist and the studio as they work toward the life-size final proof before the edition.