Drypoint - tetra packs

A quick experiment this morning, so excuse the lack of detail in the print - this was about the process. I've read that you can use tetra packs as an alternative to drypoint plastic and being as our local council doesn't recycle them, reusing seems a reasonable option. The only disadvantage is the size of the sides of the carton which limits you unless you want to get a crease line on your print. Also it's not easy to draw out a rough design on a shiny surface - I'll experiment more on what to use. However, if you are happy to draw freehand with a scratching tool it worked perfectly well. The outside of the carton showed up the scratched lines more than the inside, but any writing or images may prove confusing when scratching. Sandpaper worked exceptionally well to create more subtle lines.

The designs on the inside and outside of the carton.

Inking up before wiping off any excess ink.

After wiping off excess....

Printing onto damp paper....

The first print....

The second....

Buttermere through the year....autumn 2019.

..and finally in my series of seasonal blogs, we come to autumn...we obviously didn't manage a nice frosty and colourful visit this year! Thankfully winter this year did provide a couple of good trips..Click here and and here.

Buttermere through the year....summer 2019.

...and following the previous blogs ...we enter summer.....

Buttermere through the year....spring 2109.

Following on from our trips in winter - we have ....spring.

Buttermere through the year....winter 2019.

Last year we tried to walk around Buttermere once a month ...we failed, but I did manage most months and all the seasons. So here is the first entry ...winter. The next will be spring and then summer and autumn...

Round Buttermere

A dull morning with high winds on the tops and low cloud, so we decided for a quick walk out around Buttermere. The light and colours were interesting - dull and cloudy, with an indigo lake, but then touches of vibrant green and orange from the grass and bracken.

Views...

The lone tree.

Waterfalls.

Fleetwith Pike and the crags below Haystacks.

Herdies. 

Sea glass in fused glass and a glass wave .... the beginning....

Another enjoyable morning spent with Roxy of RD Glass....this time before starting with a wave I did a trial piece incorporating sea-glass. There is definitely a risk that this may crack on firing, as the sea glass will have different properties from the commercial glass and each piece itself will be different but we'll see what happens. Then Tom used some 'frit' that he had made from sea-glass to create a coaster. After that I 'played' creating another wave using the clear waters of the river Liza as it enters Ennerdale as inspiration.

Incorporating sea-glass ...

Sea-glass frit...

Kiln paper was laid under the bottom layer of glass to create texture.

I then began to cut out basic shapes, before deciding that I'd like to include some wire and gold flakes - these had to be trapped under a layer of glass. so the original design was transferred to another layer of glass so the wire and gold flakes could be trapped - see below. 

Frit and powders were then added to the final design.....and now I just have to wait for the firing to fuse it all.