Ann Eldridge was born in Maine and has spent most of her life in central Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1977 she graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA in printmaking. Her prints are all true stories, and often the titles appear in her head before the image does. She primarily works with intaglio print techniques on copper plate. The term “intaglio,” an Italian word meaning “incised,” encompasses line etching, aquatint, drypoint, engraving and soft-ground, mezzotint and other similar processes.

The images are usually begun as traditional line etchings by warming a mirror-finish plate and applying a thin layer of a ground or varnish made of beeswax and asphaltum. Fine lines are drawn onto the plate with a steel needle, exposing the copper beneath. The plate is then submerged in a bath of ferric chloride, which etches the lines into the plate. The wax ground is removed, and the etched plate is inked by rubbing a stiff oil-based ink into the lines and wiping the top surface clean.

Slightly dampened paper is placed over the plate, the felt blankets of the etching press are laid on top and the plate is drawn through the rollers of the press with a hand crank. The plates are reworked by regrounding, adding lines and re-etching as needed until that mysterious point where the print “feels” done.

Colors may be applied directly in different areas of the plate and carefully wiped, or two plates may be used to achieve multiple color effects. A few of the prints are hand-colored after the printing ink has dried.

Each plate is printed as a limited edition. The numbers in the left-hand corner of the print indicate the unique number of the print followed by the total number of prints in the edition. All papers are of 100‰ rag content and all matting materials are acid-free.

Ann produces new prints and drawings every year. Slides or copies can be sent to those interested in seeing new work as it becomes available.