Doumar's Restaurant -Solarplate Etching

"Welcome to Doumar's, where everyday is Ice Cream Day!" That's what they say at the restaurant in Norfolk, Virginia that sports this funky sign! It's very famous for its ice cream and handmade waffle cones, made by hand on the original waffle machine, built in 1904. It was invented by Abe Doumar and was first used at his restaurant on Coney Island, New York. In 1907 he relocated it to Norfolk where it’s been ever since. Reading about the history and the food on their website certainly has made me hungry! It's true!

Solarplate Experiment

Recently a friend shared with me her knowledge of etching with solarplates. A solarplate is a light sensitized steel backed polymer material. In my case, I drew my design on a frosted clear glass plate and placed it on the solarplate. Then I placed them in the sun for a short time and after that exposure, I washed the plate with a little water and saw that my image was etched on the solarplate. Very cool!
I wasn't sure how dark to make some parts of my drawing because it was my first solarplate but I am fairly pleased with the results. I like the oil-based ink print better because of the higher contrast but maybe a little more practice with the water-based ink will yield some better results. 
It seems like a great way to make a print with lots of values! I loved drawing it on the frosted glass plate!

Here's the solarplate after the exposure:

Drawing on glass plate

Print from plate with oil -based ink

Print from plate with water-based ink