[08.14.25] inspiration - vive tolli

vive tolli (1928 - 2020) was an estonian graphic artist and teacher. her work is tied together by a fondness for her country's history and culture. scenes from estonian folklore and legend are often drawn upon for inspiration. many works, following the aesthetic principles of socialist realism, present idealizations of farmers or manual laborers. she also made many townscapes depicting tallinn, where she grew up. in her more abstract work nature motifs of leaves, branches, and seabeds appear.

all of her work is done through etching, which involves incising a copper plate and placing it into an acid bath. to get those darker tones, i wonder if the light areas were coated in lacquer to protect from the acid bite, then the plate bathed to etch unprotected patches, resulting in darker areas. just speculating. i'm not an etcher, so someone should correct me on that.

i love the use of strong geometric shapes in contrast to the natural, spontaneous texture created by the acid bath. i went to my first copper-etching class recently, and i cannot overstate how physically strenuous it is to control and incise a single line. making works like this requires a deliberate (and strong!) hand.

she's quite famous in estonia and has won several awards, so there is a good amount of information about her online though it is all in estonian.
https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vive_Tolli
https://ekspress.delfi.ee/artikkel/89536993/vive-tolli-28-vii-1928-8-iv-2020-in-memoriam