Etchings are made from metal plates, usually zinc or copper, that have been corroded by the action of acid to form indentations on the plate. Various types of resist are used to control where the acid "bites" giving lines, tones and painterly marks. The indentations are filled with ink each time a print is made onto paper through a hand-operated etching press. Traditionally, etching has been quite toxic with acid and solvent fumes but at Horsley Printmakers we follow a non-toxic methodology pioneered by Keith Howard and Friedhard Kiekeben.

Acrylic-resist etching 
by Josie Mountford

Acrylic-resist etching 
by Eileen Carnaffin

Students at work in the acrylic-resist etching Saturday class at the 
University of Newcastle upon Tyne

Etching
by Joanna Meadows

Acrylic resist etching
by Jennifer Locke

Acrylic resist etching
by Varie Freyne

Acrylic resist etching by Cherie Steele