Grattazh (from fr. Gratter - scratch, scratch) - a way to make a picture by scratching with a pen or a sharp tool paper or cardboard, covered with ink. Another name for the technique is wax painting. The works made using the grattag technique are distinguished by the contrast of the white lines of the picture and the black background and are similar to woodcuts or linocuts .
History
More often than other grattages used graphics of the beginning of XX century. In Russia, under the name of grattography, such a technique was first used by M.V. Dobuzhinsky in the works of the 1920s, creating his fantastic, highly expressive works. It was also used by the Lithuanian graphic artist D. K. Tarabildene , in particular, she turned to scratching when working on illustrations for the book “One Hundred Folk Ballads”.
Technique
To facilitate the removal of mascara from the surface of paper or cardboard, it is covered with a layer of wax ( paraffin ) before the ink is poured . So that the mascara does not gather in drops on the wax surface, it is mixed with soap (soap solution). Sometimes paper is pre-tinted with paints, which gives the subsequent drawing a more lively look. [1] [2] Also sometimes, oil pastels are used instead of wax (paraffin): paper (cardboard) is rubbed with pastel until completely painted over and covered with dark paint, after which the desired pattern is scratched.