My pre-rocked mezzotint plates finally arrived this week, after waiting 2 months. (apparently, the manufacturer is overseas) After the long wait, it felt great to finally get to work on these plates. I’m basing these mezzotints on photographs of my beeswax face sculptures. Working on these mezzotints is very satisfying simply because the process couldn’t be more different than the 7′ x 4′ figure drawings I’m also working on. These mezzotints are only 4″ x 5″ which is so much smaller than anything I’ve made over the past few years. I am enjoying the level of intimacy and detail I’m able to experience while scraping the plate. The last time I worked with intaglio processes was back in 2006, so it’s wonderful to have a reason to return to printmaking after all of these years.
Clara Lieu 