It’s been a minute…

Well, it’s been a minute!  I haven’t uploaded ANYTHING to my blog in a Loooong time. I got distracted with Facebook and Instagram…

This will be my first post in almost 11 years..so, I hope it actually works.  Recently, I have discovered doing intaglio drypoint using old milk cartons! That’s right, the stuff that winds up in landfills can be used to make plates.  

Basically, I wash out and cut open an empty carton that is made of Tetra Pak.  The silvery inside is perfect.  I use my etching needles to scribe the surface to produce my drawing.  Like any drypoint, the harder you press, the deeper the lines, and the darker these will be, when printed.  

The Tetra plate is then inked with Akua Intaglio inks, wiped, and printed on dampened Rives BFK paper.  Lately, I have been using a pasta machine as my press.  This makes printmaking portable!  My friend, Hel, turned the pasta machine on its side in order to print horizontally.  Yay! Having to print vertically, the way the machine normally works, was awkward, limiting, and the plate would often slip, giving me a weird result.

Anyhow, it is a fun and accessible way to produce intaglio prints! Give it go!