One thing quite particular to engraving is the amount of preparation. From the tools themselves to preparing the metal to transferring the design, it is a patient practice. The practical side of the preparation alone is time consuming – and this is assuming you have your design perfected before beginning!
After learning to both make and preserve our own tools, we moved on territory that felt more familiar to me: transferring. While possible to engrave free-hand into the copper, the laborious nature of it means I much prefer to ensure that the composition and placement of the design is perfect before committing to engraving.
There are a variety of ways to do this. The first I learnt was using a mix of coloured and clear acetate. This method involves flipping the design, so using a deliberately backwards design is essential.
After either drawing or tracing into the clear acetate, we grated black pastel into the traced acetate, allowing it to serve as a stencil for our design. Meanwhile on the copper itself, we rolled plasticine on the surface to ensure it was dull and would hold the transfer. After fixing the acetate and burnishing to the copper, you had a perfect temporary outline to begin working into with your scriber. Plasticine is the hero of this, as it not only holds the transfer but can also be used as a rubber to neaten up any mistakes.
The lines of the scriber are so delicate, it is quite a nice finish all of it’s own, although only clear in certain lights.
A quicker (and less messy) but more expensive method uses laser prints. You can use nail varnish to blot over the laser print design and it will transfer straight to the copper. Plasticine again can be used to correct mistakes.
As a lightbox addict, I am very grateful for transferring. It is calming and gives confidence about the end design, which I much needed to get through the painstaking and occasionally painful process of engraving.
