This weekend I did some hand printing, creating monotype images for one-of-a-kind fabric. This will be a border element on the project I posted about last week.
I receive a lot of questions about monotype printing. So, I thought I’d show a little work-in-progress.
First – Get some kind of image on the plate. Here I am using a linear stencil, created with overlapping, random lines. I created it from hot glue.
This is actually not the very very very first step. Prior to shooting this picture I had rolled out some acrylic paint onto my printing plate. And, I had painted the background color (wet sponge painting) onto the strip of fabric onto which I’ll be monotype printing.
Next – press some fabric onto the plate. Position it, then press with your hands. The artist’s hands are the printing press.
Then, re-ink the plate with the roller, put the linear stencil back on the plate, and print some more.
LOW TECH – Hand printing is very low tech and does not require a press. In a printmaking studio in which artists are creating final works as monotypes, they are probably using a very rigid plate. Glass or plexiglass. To get the image to offset onto the paper requires a lot of pressure. That’s why a press is used. But a gelatin plate like I use is not rigid. You can press it in slightly with your fingers and get the image you’ve put onto the plate to transfer to the fabric
VERSATILE – Pressing different fabrics into the same image on the plate will yield completely different results. Sheer fabrics, opaque fabrics, and various grades of paper all print well as monotypes, and all look quite different from one another. It’s exciting to mix the pieces together created this way.
YARDAGE LENGTHS – While many artists use their gelatin plates to compose a finished piece of artwork with multiple elements, I enjoy using hand printing to create yardage lengths.
On the piece I am creating, the printing method matches my creative purpose well. One side of the finished quilt will be discordant, printed with browns and oranges. The other side will be peaceful, printed in blues. Here, I’ve created a border element that will cross those two halves but still unify the overall composition.
I started by printing on the orange-hue fabric piece I had sponge painted, then just kept moving down the length to get to the blue section I had painted. I am hoping that common pattern going across the sections will enhance the meaning of the artwork.
FAST and FASCINATING That about says it. I enjoy the exhilaration and discovery involved in hand printmaking.
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If you are interested in the many varied effects and uses of monotype printing, you might enjoy seeing some very different applications. Here are a few paper works i created by monoprinting with acrylics and then collaging the composition.
“SHALLOW SOIL'“
“PORTALS”"
“IN THE VERY SAME BREATH”
If you would like to learn more about these works on paper, you can find them on my website:
SHALLOW SOIL
PORTALS
IN THE VERY SAME BREATH
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
And to all… My best wishes for a peaceful and meaningful holiday season
Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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