February 10th, 2024

I've always wanted to make prints but didn't want to ivest in a printing press.  Also, being precise is not exactly my strength.

I have tried many substrates to "etch" marks into a plate but recently, found one I really liked. — Tetra Pak.  This is packaging material that is commonly found in grocery stores.  I found it by looking at the bottom of the chicken broth container I had in my fridge.  But I think you can also find it containing other fluids like milk, cream, etc.  

After rinsing out the container, I cut it into pieces (easy!) and used this as my "plate".  You can draw directly on the Tetra Pak or use tracing paper to transfer a design.  Then you use a sharp tool (I used an awl) to "etch" the lines onto the plate.  I used Speedball paints to fill in the indentations, wiped off all the ink from the plate and then printed onto a piece of paper using a brayer.  The image on the left is the print and the image on the right is the plate.  

I'm going to make a few of these so I can experiment with adding color to the image with watercolor or acrylic.  Should keep me busy for a couple of days!