I chose to use drywall and the human body as my "Plates". Seeking something unconventional that could not be sent thorugh a press, to show the unconventional aspects of the Lumetype, I thought of the human body. As a plate made using the Lumetype printmaking method does not requre the "passing through" of light, but actually is the light, the result is that even the human body and details of both wrinkles and pores come through. I also chose to use drywall as a carving surface, because of the ephemeral quality is holds out of the context of a construction material. On its own, drywall is easily broken and crumbles as soon as pressure or tool is applied into the meat or edges of it. The paper that covers the drywall is textured and porous - not lending itself well to the outcome of the fine detail or smooth washes that I’d intended to impose upon it. Facing these challenges, my attempt was to create textures, smooth detail and layering that could defy what one would expect from a piece of crumbling and textured drywall. In a press or with burnishing, this plate would not last more than 5 -10 passes, with the Lumetype, I could easily make multiple passes (having done 15 to date) if I'm careful not to knock it around. In fact, because there is really no need to maneuver the plate at all in printing, i could most likely print a comparable amount of prints of at least a woodcut if not a metal etching. Another aspect of drywall that drew me in was its depth and crude carvability. In Lumetype, deep recesses offer denser blacks to be achieved in a print when the plate is used as an intaglio plate. Denser blacks offer the ability to pull through secondary images or textures from other surfaces and sources. Deep areas are capable of pulling textures into them as monoprints (or as an edition if variables can be controlled). Drywall, unlike wood or linoleum does not allow for carving tools to be used successfully, in that they dull within a few passes and do not have a grain or even consistency to follow (just chips and flakes). I used a simple utility blade and chiselled away at scored lines to get my depth. I was indeed able to acheive washes, of grey and fine lines and the densest areas are now prepared for textures and images to be pulled through if I chose to take that path.

-Caro d'Offay