"Ashokan Ice" by Dan Welden, Amer., (B.1941)

Solar Plate Etching, no date, with Hand Coloring in acrylic, unique impression outside the small Ed., 7 x 4-15/16, on warm white wove paper, signed, titled & annotated "AP" in pencil. Dan Welden, an internationally renown teacher, author, and  master printer; is best known as the inventor of Solar Plate Etching; developed to provide a non toxic alternative to etching with acid. Solar Plate utilizes a photosensitive emulsion on a metal plate. The artist draws onto a transparent film which is laid over the plate and exposed to light, activating the photo sensitized emulsion. The plate is then bathed and areas "drawn on" dissolve, leaving furrows in the plate with exact fidelity to the artist's drawing. It is then inked and printed like a traditional etching; and offers an expanded range of techniques and aesthetic versatility without the toxicity of etching with acid and solvents.