Image size: 1 1/4” high x 2 1/4” wide
Paper Size: 5” high x 5 “ high
Edition size: 22

I love to draw from nature. This bumblebee included. The beating of a cellophane wing reminds me of how fleeting and ephemeral life is and to enjoy each moment.

This artwork is an intaglio print. Intaglio is an umbrella term for images incised on metal plates. Examples of intaglio techniques include etching, drypoint, aquatint, engraving, softground and mezzotint.

This print started as a direct etching. In etching, one coats a metal plate with an acrylic or an asphaltum ground. Lines are then drawn in the ground. The plate is immersed in an acid bath where the acid eats away at the exposed copper lines. The plate is removed from the acid bath, cleaned and then inked. With dampened paper and felts (blankets) placed on top, the plate is hand cranked through a high pressure press setting and the image is then printed on to the dampened paper.

After creating the line etching of the bee, I drew directly on the metal plate with a variety of steel tools including a fun tool called a roulette.

The color of the paper is a warm yellow as indicated in the close up photos of the Bee.

Prints that are part of an Edition will look the same but may have some slight variations as each is unique. The edition number pictured may differ from the one received.

© Martha Ebner All rights reserved
Copyright non-transferable with sale


Materials
All work is made using 100% archival paper and artist-grade professional quality inks, watercolors and/or colored pencils.

All prints are for sale unframed.