Etching

This work was created when I was a member of the Santa Fe Etching Club, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2004-2012.

During the years I participated, the Santa Fe Etching Club operated out of Eli Levin’s studio, located in an area known as the Santa Fe Railyard. Eli’s studio was built in the 1920s and for more than 20 years the building was the home of John Muir Publications.

The studio, which hosted numerous figure drawing sessions throughout the week, was set up for printmaking on Thursdays till midnight. I usually went in the evening and stayed till the end, riding my bike home after midnight, and laying out my fresh prints to dry before going to sleep. It was a welcoming atmosphere and its non-profit structure and generous patronage from Dr. Robert Bell offered local artists a low-cost opportunity to work in the intaglio medium. Classical music played and someone always brought a dessert, but the best part was exchanging ideas and watching them develop as we worked together in the studio. There was shared excitement around the press when someone pulled their first proof. Friendships formed quickly as a 500-year-old technique was embraced and creativity was celebrated.

This group of etchings reproduces Maurice Sand’s illustrations from his book Masques et Bouffons. Comédie Italienne (Masks and Jesters. Italian Comedy), published in 1860.

Originating in Renaissance Italy, but achieving popularity across Europe, commedia dell’arte is a special type of improvised comedy involving stock characters.