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Over the past twenty years, I have become a keen observer of the
world around me and have continued to incorporate my journeys into
my art. My experiences are the seed from which my art grows, and
the interpretation is what makes the art unique. There is the visible
world… and then there is the artist’s imagination. My
etchings are what happens when these two meet.
Many of my works were inspired by my travel, by journeys all over
the globe. I portray the natural world by using colors and forms
to convey not just a scene but a feeling. Animals feature prominently
in many of my works; my portfolio is like a safari, with birds,
fish, seals, hippos, rhinoceroses, cats, insects and many other
exotic creatures.
But my daily strolls and my everyday life give me subject matter
as well. Take an “ordinary” object, like a vase of flowers,
a tree, or a table laden with food. Why should these be any more
or less worthy an artistic subject than anything else? I try to
find something magical in each of these scenes – place a love
letter next to the flowers, fill the tree with magical creatures,
or invite a tiny yellow bird onto the dinner table. In this way,
I can playfully present my perceptions of a cosmos still full of
magic and enchantment. Everyone sees the same things; not everyone
sees them the same way.
I feel very strongly that an artist’s medium is an integral
part of the piece itself. My preferred medium is etching. The foundation
of the etching is the plate, a piece of copper or zinc that is coated
with a thin layer, or “ground,” of acid-resistant resin.
As the artist scratches away the ground with a needle, exposing
but not penetrating the metal, the design slowly emerges. Once the
design has been finished, the plate is placed in an acid bath. The
acid attacks the exposed lines until the artist has achieved the
desired exposure, when the plate is taken out of the acid solution
and the remaining resin is removed. For printing, the plate is warmed
slightly, coated with ink, and carefully wiped so that the ink remains
in the grooves but not on the surface of the plate. Finally, the
plate is put through an etching press with soft, absorbent paper.
Only a limited number of top-quality prints can be made from a plate
and some artists even destroy their plates after the prints have
been made. For most of my works, I produce a limited edition of
120 prints; however, some pieces are in editions of 120 or 250.
For all limited editions, each print is signed, and numbered.
Many consider etching to be one of the most versatile of all the
graphic media due to the endless effects it allows a skilled artist
to achieve. For my part, I love the degree of skill and attention-to-detail
that is required to create a truly vibrant and compelling print.
Jutta Votteler
November 2002
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