Workshop: Sarah Humby and Jayne Soakell - Tetrapak Printmaking

Tetrapak turned out to be very user friendly. We discovered that we could cut holes in it, bend it, scratch texture into it, tear layers off the surface - and more. And if we messed up, we could throw it in the bin and start again with a fresh piece. With printmaking, there is a certain freedom in knowing that you can make multiple passes at an idea. If something doesn’t quite work, you can make a small change and try again. Or you can see another possibility - different colours, add some more texture after inking, add some chine colle (stick some coloured tissue or textured paper on the paper before making the print) and so on.

Sarah and Jayne are wonderful guides and enablers. The recapped their demo and then set the group free with all the materials provided. They kept a careful watch as they circulated, providing advice, additional tools, helping us explore all the possibilities. We worked on relief printmaking in the morning and intaglio in the afternoon (with a little chine colle thrown in).

A fantastic day.