DEFINTIONS

Serigraph A serigraph is created using a stencil process, the most common of which is the silk screen method. Each color that appears in a serigraph has been applied individually through a separate silk screen that has been blocked out in areas where that particular color doesn't appear in the image. Serigraphs that incorporate a wide variety of colors can require hundreds of individual screens to produce the final product.

Lithograph The concept behind creating a lithograph is similar in that the image is broken down into individual colors each of which is then applied to the paper separately. The process used to apply the layers of color differs greatly from a serigraph. The artist begins by using a greasy crayon or pen to draw his design directly on a stone, aluminum or zinc plate. The stone is then moistened with water, rolled with ink and pressed onto the paper. When the ink is rolled onto the stone it only sticks to the areas where the greasy design was drawn. The ink is then transferred onto paper when it is pressed against the plate. Each color in a lithograph is applied using a separate plate.

Etching A plate is also used to create an etching. A copper or zinc plate is covered with an acid-resistant ground and the artist uses sharp tools to scratch a design through the ground. The plate is then immersed into an acid bath, allowing the acid to bite into the metal where the protective ground has been removed. The finished plate is then inked and wiped clean, leaving ink in the crevices of the design that has been bitten into the metal. When the plate is run through a press along with etching paper, the great pressure from the press leaves an ink impression of the etched design on the paper.

Close Window

 

 

"DeGrazia" is a registered trademark of the DeGrazia Foundation. All Rights Reserved DeGrazia Foundation Copyright 2002-10.