Kia ora koutou! Yesterday I participated in a day long etching class at the community art centre. Etching is something i have wanted to learn for quite some time but did not know where to start. I found much to my pleasure that it was pretty straightforward. For the dry point etching class, we used 1mm acrylic plates cut to A5 size. The acrylic is clear and coated in a protective film that is easily peeled off. You the take a drawing and tape it to the underside. The trick is to remember that the drawing will be reversed once printed, so you have to make sure that if positioning matters, print your drawing in reverse and then use it. The carving tools are pretty simple. You simply scratch into the acrylic surface. You can use an etching needle to create the main line art, or you can use any number of scouring tools like wire brushes or sandpaper to get interesting effects. Overall, I am thrilled that I was able to learn this technique and i hope to put it to further use. Cheers!
Very medieval! I might suggest this art project to the local library.
It was very easy - with one catch. I HIGHLY Recommend having access to a rolling printing press to get the pressure needed to transfer the ink from the plate to the print.
That makes sense. I think they have a pasta roller for their polymer clay programs. Might that work at a small scale?
It is worth a try. Because the ink is down in the scratches and not on top of the block, it takes a bit of pressure to get it onto the paper. Also, using a rag-based paper around 300 gsm and wetting it is key. You want to get the paper wet, then dry it off to the point that it is damp, but will press into the scratches and release the ink onto the paper.
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