Betsy Peirce

Inspired by nature and my travels, I have been making prints since 1998. I have always been attracted to prints. Something about the flat, graphic look always calls to me.

I work with a variety of techniques, mainly etching and monotype. For the etchings, I usually work on copper plates, doing intaglio prints; carving through a “ground” with an etching needle, immersing the carved copper plate into ferric chloride (less toxic than the traditional acid), and adding dark tones with aquatint. The plate is inked, wiped, and run through a press with paper, transferring the image onto the paper. An edition: multiple prints of the same image, can be made. Making etchings takes persistence and a lengthy commitment to mastering the technical aspects.

Monotypes are done by applying ink to a plexiglass plate, sometimes using stencils or textured materials, then running the plate through a press onto paper. These prints are one-of-a-kind, although I often work back into a “ghost,” a second, paler print from the same plate, adding color, changing the composition, or rearranging stencils.

I am lucky to have worked with great teachers at UNM-Taos such as Jennifer Lynch, Gary Cook, and Amy Rankin. The other students there – many longtime printers – are also a source of knowledge. I am always striving to make my etchings look like etchers of the past: my favorite is Gene Kloss, with her super-dense blacks and luminous whites.

Monoprints are a more immediate, spontaneous, colorful break from etching for me, which can be quite tedious and difficult.