Aris Engel (1946)
Etching is very physical.
Hard working, getting dirty hands: in short, it is a very traditional, physical occupation as well as a creative process. The combinations of these things which makes graphics so appealing to Aris Engel.
Aris is a trained teacher and social teamworker and he used to work in the healthcare sector.
He was introduced to different forms of graphics during his trainings and has been involved with it on and off ever since.
Graphics was pushed into the background for various reasons for a long time, but in the ending years of the last century graphics has come back into the picture, particularly etching.
Physical work, combined with periods of rest is important for him in order to recharge his batteries and also to get rid of tension. It sounds contradictory, but it works very well together; relaxation through exertion is not only for sportspeople. Aris has experienced this over the years in various ways.The beauty of etching is that it is both hard work and, at the same time, very restful: if you want to do it well you cannot give attention to anything else.
And there is a similarity between life and etching :
every scratch leaves its traces