It was a one-of-its-kind national etching camp, which wasconducted for the first time in Goa by Sunaparanta, in coordination with VirajNaik, a proficient and established artist and printmaker from Goa. The camp saw12 prominent printmakers from all over the country and included names such as KLaxma Goud, K R Subanna and Dattatreya Apte among others. Twelve printmakingassistants from Goa were selected to assist the master artists and learn fromthem.
When asked about how the camp materialised, Naik said thatputting together something of this sort as a platform for printmakers was anidea he always had in mind. “When the management of Sunaparanta realised the feasibilityof the idea, they saw to it that the etching camp happens,” he says. Thematerial for the artists “ the metal plates, acid, ground, etc “ was providedby Sunaparanta.
Etching is the process of making prints from metal platesinto which the design is eroded into by acid. The process involves coating acopper or zinc plate with etching ground “ an acid resistant material “ andscraping off or drawing the lines of the design into the ground with a sharptool. The plate is then dipped in acid, usually nitric acid, and the parts ofthe unexposed metal are eaten away “ in the process called biting “ thusforming recesses and lines. Ink is applied onto this plate and the plate isplaced over paper, thus transferring the design onto the paper.
Ramdas Gadekar, one of the assisting artists said theyhelped the master artists with their work such as rolling colour and biting theplate. “I wanted to do etching similar to the kind of paintings I do. I wantedto use a lot of colours. There was this artist called Atin Basak. He broughtalong 15 of his original plates; he uses a lot of colours and burnishing and Iwas inspired by that,” he says.
Vijay Bhandare who passed out from the Goa College of Art in1995 says the lack of infrastructure then “ especially the etching press whichis costly “ inhibited the expression of creativity through etching. “I used tomake woodcuts and linocuts then. Now there are seven or eight etching studiosin Goa. I am returning to etching after 12 years. This was the best experience,where I learnt a lot,” Bhandare says with a lot of expression.
