“Chine colle” is a printmaking technique combining collage paper and the etching process. An image is etched into a metal plate, which is then inked for each individual print. The collage paper is placed directly on the plate prior to overlaying everything with a sheet of Arches paper. The plate is then run through the etching press, and the print is produced with the collage layer under the inked image. The plate can be used again, but each collage composition is different, making each print one of a kind.
In this series of chine colles, the collage has gone far beyond the norm in typical printmaking. The collage compositions become the dominant element in these pieces. The etched images are starting points, with each piece having a distinct character, a different quality of light. The introduction of found paper, (old photographs of the artist’s, various mass printed media, hand made paper, metal foils, etc.) gives the prints an added dimension of light, texture and motion. The compositions were on the edge of abstraction verses landscape, interior and exterior. With the bits of “realism” and “tactile” they have become more so.
