Self Help Graphics & Art in ELA asked me to produce an Intaglio print in their print studio for the 45th Annual Print Fair. I decided to create a 4 plate, paper picado, chine collé aquatint etching. This etching process is rare and requires many steps before and during printing (click on the photos below).
Margaret 'Quica' Alarcón Ojo del Agua, 2018 4 plate chine collé aquatint etching, Ed. 30 13.75 x 13.75" - image size 22 x 30" - paper size
Ojo del Agua (eye of water) conceptualizes the body-mind-spirit connection to water. It is a prayer for clarity, consciousness and action that will inspire public, global policy that moves to protect and provide clean water for all living things. Water moves like a spiral, a symbol of change, progression, and development. Water is mutable, always changing as in the life cycles of the natural world. The images are placed in a spiral formation that mimics the shape of the Huichol “ojo de dios” or god’s eye. An ancient otomí papel picado “lagrima” or tear was added as chiné collé, placed behind each of the etched drawings to remind us that our emotions are connected to water.