Focus on technique: Soft Ground Etching
To produce a soft ground etching, artists add tallow (animal fat) to the ground, rendering it softer and stickier. Its thicker consistency enables artists to press an object, such as lace or fabric, directly into the ground, creating a direct imprint of its shape, lines, and texture. Artists can also overlay the soft ground with paper. When they draw on the paper, the pencil leaves indentations in the ground that will be exposed to acid once the paper is removed. Once the plate is cleaned, inked, and pressed, the resulting print will have a grainy, hand-drawn quality evocative of pencil, chalk, or crayon lines.