A Brief Explanation of Process

     "My work begins with a blank piece of copper. I then apply an asphaltum ground (a protective coating) over the surface of the copper plate. I am then able to draw through it creating open, unprotected marks ready to be etch in an acid bath.  My next step is to submerge the plate in solution of Ferric Chloride. The solution eats away the exposed copper and leaves etched marks where I had previously drawn through the protective ground. The process is often much more involved than this and there are limitless methods for making marks, but ultimately stenciling, and stopping out areas of the copper prior to etching is the concept behind this technique of printmaking. 

     My plates are then ready to ink and print. I card ink (basically oil paint that is made acid free so that it can be used on paper with out destroying it) into the etched marks, wipe the surface of the plate with tarlatan cloths (starched cheesecloth) and print it onto paper using felts and an etching press. This inking and printing can happen a couple times or 20 times as I create a piece of art, as the majority of my prints are mono-prints and are run through the press many times before completion. Color is exceptionally important in my work and a good amount of time is spent mixing ink. This way of working is a print process, but really has more in common with painting, which is also yields unique works of art. 

     Often times I add other elements to the work such as gold leaf, graphite or serigraphy (screen-print).  This can give me a graphic, more surface element in my work. 

The next step is to mount the paper prints on to panels.  I do this using traditional rice paste. I coat the panels with the paste and let it dry. I then align the print to the panel and moisten the paper so that it re-activates the paste. This is much like applying a large stamp. Burnishing the paper down eliminates potential wrinkles. Wet paper stretches, so that when it dries, it shrinks back to its original size making a taught fixed surface.

     Lastly, I coat the panel and print with a coating of wax to seal it from moisture, and environmental damage. This wax coating leaves a supple satin surface to the work of art."

    
     Debora Oden hails from Nebraska and attended The University of Nebraska, Lincoln where she earned a Masters of Fine Art degree. She won the Triennial Prize, 5^th Egyptian International Print Triennial, Cairo, Egypt and her work was included in the 3^rd International Experimental Engraving Biennial at The Brancovian Palace Cultural Center in Mongsoala, Romania. She was also invited to participate in the 2009 China Sanbao International Printmaking Exhibition and Symposium, hosted by the Jingdezhen Sanabo Ceramic Art Institute, Shanxi University College of Fine Art and the Beijing Center Academy of Fine Art. In addition, her work has been exhibited in France, Thailand, Egypt, Poland and Austria. Her prints can be found in the collections of The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, the University of Dallas, the University of Nebraska, Hallmark Global Services, Grinnell College and the Kohler Art Library.    

     To view more of Deb's work, please visit her website at

www.lifesizepress.virb.com