The sensing, knowing hand: a phenomenological drawing tool

Endorsing the proposition that drawing is phenomenological, this article presents an argument for hand drawing as a creative, communicative activity which contributes significantly to our awareness of being human. I also argue that, far from being mechanical, fine art printmaking is a highly creative graphic and sculptural activity undertaken not to reproduce an image but to create one. The specialised, trained human hand participates in an intense hand-eye-brain relationship, intentionally drawing signifying graphic marks to communicate information visually. When drawing for intaglio printing, artists learn to handle new tools to draw and craft lines and tonal shapes on a rigid plate surface. They engage in labour-intensive technical processes and conscious reflection of the emergent image in order to create meaningful, aesthetic content developed from printing processes that deliver a limited edition of handprinted drawings. My examples are drawn from work that is little known in the West, namely intaglio printed drawings made at and published by The Caversham Press in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. I discuss the drawing processes of two etchings and a drypoint to explain drawing and printing processes and I consider the mind’s eye imaging that intersects with information from the physical eye, both of which contribute to decisions made by the brain informing the hand of motor actions required to create printed drawings.