Gelb & Etching

During her time spent at Atelier 17, Gelb made a lot of prints, specifically etchings.

What is an etching?

An Etching is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines or areas are incised using acid into a metal plate in order to hold the ink. In etching, the plate can be made of iron, copper, or zinc. To prepare the plate for etching, it is first polished to remove all scratches and imperfections from the surface.

The video to the left is a simple breakdown of how etchings are made, in order for a better understanding of how much space was required for this process to take place.

It gives greater detail into the process of how Gelb made her prints – especially the large size of the etching press.

With this knowledge (through visualization) one can imagine how Gelb had to switch her medium of artistic expression. Shifting from the large indoor environment of Atelier 17 in NYC to the tiny dune shack on the Peaked Hill Bars in Provincetown, MA meant that there wasn't much space for a whole etching press. And thus, the switch from printmaking to painting was formed.

However, Gelb still preserved aspects of printmaking in her paintings at the dune shack. In her Channels of Night etching & relief and The Great Beach: June Entering painting, an unmistakable overlap of geometric shapes can be observed.

The layering process is evident in both of her mediums, despite them seemingly being completely different processes of art creation.