I’ve been working on an apparatus to help me streamline and control my mezzotint copper plate preparation. In moving toward the incarnation you see in this post I built 3 other models, each one becoming more and more refined and tweaking elements that didn’t seem to work.

Ultimately what I wanted was a rotating deck that would keep the copper plate stable and offer ease of movement through the different angles one has to use to rock the plate properly.

The rocking deck would also need a secure place for the rocker itself, and a place to keep the blade protected when not in use. The sheath I built on the forward end of the deck holds the rocking blade without contacting the serrated edge of the blade at all.

Learn more about mezzotint here. See some of my mezzotint work here. Two really great mezzotint artists are Michelle Rozic and Stewart Duffin. Check them out.