Sugar Lift

Applying a Sugar Lift to a copper etching plate.
Sugar Lift is a lift ground technique used to mimic loose brushwork on the intaglio plate. The Sugar Lift material is primarily comprised of liquid cornsyrup, with a small amount of India ink for colour, and green dish soap as a releasing agent.
Please remember to use Liquid Hard Ground next to the ventilation.
Clean all Sugary brushes with warm water and soap!

[@andyrichardson2611]

Thanks for posting this, it’s clear and concise.

[@signsoflifemk1963]

nice clear demo! Thanks!

[@slipton6493]

Thank you! Very helpful!

[@r0bt93]

Thanks for this! My Mum Janette Thompson was an amazing printmaker who used this technique back in the day.
What's the safety of this technique? She passed away from MND a couple of years ago unfortunately, and thinks some of the chemicals used for printmaking may have contributed!

[@professortruszkowski]

Thanks for your comment. Very sorry to her about your Mum. Old school Printmaking was notorious for being necessarily toxic. Many Printmakers found themselves with illnesses, allergies, or sensitivities that were directly related to the chemicals in the Print studio, and more importantly, the very poor handling of them. To be honest, there are still many, MANY studios doing things the wrong way, in my opinion. And as an aside, women Printmakers (or anyone outside the "old boys club" often got stuck in a hopeless situation; they had to be tougher and even less worried about showing weakness than their male counterparts, which made them prone to illness and injury. But I digress.)
This process uses a mix of non-toxic, and more traditional (toxic) materials. The "Sugar Lift" mixture itself is just Corn Syrup + India Ink + Dishsoap, so quite harmless. The Liquid Hardground is made by Graphic Chemical, and not the most pleasant material around, but we use dedicated ventilation to draw fumes from the workspace, as well as employ Nitrile gloves, and careful handling techniques to ensure that we don't breathe, ingest, or come in contact with anything we shouldn't. When treated with care and caution, most art materials can be used safely.