As few chemicals as possible.
It’s no surprise that ferric acid is hard to purchase, and dangerous to handle. Rosin powder and spray enamel to create the fine gray tones of an aquatint are far easier to obtain, and equally volatile.
Asthma + super fine rosin particles x enamel fumes = BAD NEWS
Lucky for me, and all you printmakers that don’t want to build a spinning rosin box, there is the sand paper method.
Typically, this method is used by running a hard ground coated plate with a piece of sandpaper over it through an etching press. I use transparent ball ground to save on the mess and the pocketbook, and had a feeling that it was too delicate a resist to survive the press method. Also, I do not keep ‘stop out’ solution around to block off areas I want to go un-aquatinted. What to do?
Hello bone folder! Cutting the sand paper into strips allows you to hand rub the tone you are looking for into small or large pieces of the plate. You can also cut the sand paper into curves that compliment your image. No bone folder? Use the burnishing end of your drypoint needle. The sand cuts tiny dimples into your ground that the acid will eat away at, creating a chemical free aquatint (uh, chemical free other than acid I mean). Change up the grade of sand paper to create coarse or fine shades, or pull your plates from the bath as you etch and burnish more as you go to get heavier shadow.
This is time consuming and won’t offer the super delicate gradation of rosin, nor is it as fast as spray enamel. This is best compared to using an irregular roulette. It does, however, offer minimal toxins, cost and equipment!
