Tinker woman 1968

This is Dirkje Kuik’s “Tinker Woman”, made with what looks like etching, sometime in the mid-20th century. I imagine the artist hunched over the plate, scraping away with a needle, reworking and shifting the image, a constant process of trial, error, intuition. I can't help but feel for Kuik, imagining her in the studio, maybe a cigarette dangling from her lips, as she works on this image of a figure who looks like they are in a state of flux. The lines are so tentative, the shading so subtle. What was she thinking? Was she sympathetic to this woman, or was she trying to distance herself? The lines of the coat are dark and dense, almost like a protective shield. They contrast with the lighter, more delicate lines of the face and the figures in the background. There’s a sense of isolation about this woman, but also a sense of strength. It makes me think about Käthe Kollwitz and her prints of working-class women. Artists looking at other artists, across time, for inspiration, exchanging ideas in an ongoing conversation. I think that’s a beautiful thing.