Barbara has been working with this technique in many different workshops, but particularly in Ireland with James O'Nolan at Stoney Road Press in Dublin and at the Belfast print studio. In Scotland she has produced several prints with Glasgow print studio and has recently been working in Aberdeen at the Peacok Print Studio making combination collagraph etchings with the printer Michael Waight. The technique is complex and the edition is very limited.

“I have work worked with Barbara over these years is either by making etchings that have relief rolls added or by partnering collagraphs with etching plates. These combinations allow Barbara to achieve a fuller spectrum of marks and colour nuances than solo plate work.

For an etching/collagraph key lines are made on the etching plate. When ready for the press we take a proof and remove the metal plate, carefully replacing it with a piece of heavy board the same size. We put the proof face down onto this and run it back through the press, this deposits the wet ink onto the card and gives Barbara the needed guide lines, identical to those on the etching plate, to work with when making the collagraph.

Although an initial image is by the artist's side the print may require something different so its clearly not a copy of an existing painting and soon takes on a life of its own.

Once we have both plates worked on and ready for printing, I would print these up with Barbara in the workshop explaining what she would like. Sometimes a bit of ‘playing around' is required to get both plates working properly. It maybe that the board is key plate to the supportive etching plate or vice –versa. I have usually found that one has to dominate over the other but both plates together form a coherent whole and give a great result

When making an etching that has a relief roll, we bite the etching plate deeply in order for the roller to kiss the surface of the metal and not to deposit all its ink into the lower etched areas. With Barbara's work we have used zinc for these prints in order for the surface to be wiped cleanly before the roller's colours are off-printed onto the plate. Two scraps of the same metal are placed at each side to act as runners for the roller to sit on.

For Barbara's work I have found the Zerkall paper is really good in capturing the colour required for her images, they seem to sing out sharply and don't get sucked into the soft surface. Using the heavy weight available, we can capture a little of the sculptural quality in her platemaking, an added bonus as all her work has a natural tactile trait.” Michael Waight