Volcano-based artist, Shirley Hasenyager, has had many mentors including Dodie Warren, Ron Kowalke, and Jade Fon from California, attending workshops of his both in California and in Hawaii. Shirley works in watercolor, mixed media, and colored pencil, though she is drawn to etching because of its detail. “I have never been a real spontaneous painter and etching is definitely not a spontaneous process.”
The first step of many in creating an acid etching is to paint an acid-resistant ground onto a thin copper or zinc plate. Then a pointed etching needle is used to draw through the ground, exposing the metal plate. It is then put in acid and the acid bites into the drawn areas. Lines vary from light to dark depending on the length of time spent in the acid bath. The plate is then cleaned of the ground, ink is applied and the surface is wiped clean with tarlatan. The plate is placed on an etching press, a dampened rag paper is placed on top and finally rolled through the press.
Shirley has received many awards and has been in over 250 juried exhibits. She has had l10State Foundation purchases and is represented in several corporate collections.
“I really love the Volcano area and a lot of my work in recent years has been inspired by that fascinating imagery. My interest is strictly landscape, flora, and fauna.”