Two New Mini Monos!

I received some new gampi paper today from Hiromi Paper in Santa Monica! 

I bought one each of Sekishu Torinoko Gampi and Gampi #20 White. Both are translucent, thin and glossy, like off-white tissue paper. It's also stronger than it looks. Gampi is beautiful stuff. 

These two "mini monos" were created last week.....some of the first new monotypes I made since the workshop in Santa Fe. They both have bits of chine colle' that I made by printing solarplates on Japanese gampi paper.

Tomorrow, I'll try out the new paper and print Solarplate images on it for chine colle'. 

Have a great Wednesday!

~Rebecca

"Hacienda", 4x5", monotype with chine colle'

"Telegraph", 4x5", monotype with chine colle'

Evolution of an image: 12 small monotypes

I was in the print lab by myself yesterday. It's nice to be able to work uninterrupted!
It's the dry summer season (As opposed to the monsoon, which is around the corner) here and that means lots of people go out of town and Monday is not an official teaching day. I have been playing with the new process I learned in Santa Fe and it's not quite natural to me yet. I'm not quite to the point where it's really comfortable, but I'm starting to get there.

I started by making two very mediocre monotypes (sorry, you can't see them!), both about 9x12". Everything seemed wrong with them- the colors, the drawing, the layers, everything. Mmmmmmmm. Should I keep going or quit for the day?  Maybe I just need to pare down, simplify and go small and keep the color palette tight.

So I went back to the smaller size I was working with last week: 4x5". I already had a palette of colors out, some of which were resonating with me, some not. I started with a PETG plate and added a piece of my solarplate printed chine colle'. I had some more small sample pieces of Japanese papers and tried printing on each type of paper last week, so all of the chine colle' bits were very small but perfect for these small plates.
The first image started to look promising. Not bad....not sure what I'm doing. The second monotype was OK, and I started to see something there...something familiar.

By print #3, I was starting to get more excited about these tiny prints. Even the colors were starting to look OK.

Image #3 (Copyright 2013 of course!). The
chine colle' bit is on the "face" of the head. 

It looked like a head. Part of a figure. Or someone wearing a mask or helmet. Or maybe an alien head or a cave drawing. Or a cave drawing of an alien head. Maybe I'm channeling Erich von Däniken.

So I decided to go with the flow and keep going with the same idea....just run with it. 

By the end of the day I had a dozen of these little blue heads. Totally unexpected. Often, going with what you see emerging from an art process can be much more rewarding that trying to make your image "fit" your plans for the day. Sometimes throwing out your plans can yield great results. 

Next time you get stuck in your art, throw out your plans and play.

12 monotypes with chine colle' created 6-24-13.
Numbered to show the order they were created 

Until next time,
~Reb

Monotype: From The Santa Fe Session

I've gotten around to photographing some of the prints I made in the Santa Fe workshop; this one is called "Big Red Striped Shrimp". This is a monotype created with Akua inks using two PETG plates and it was run through a Laguna etching press. I don't think Laguna presses are made anymore though. Bummer! They are nice presses. 

"Big Red Striped Shrimp", Monotype;
image size 12'x16", printed on Arches 88

At first I though this print might be a bit on the chaotic side but it's really starting to grow on me. It's a little bit whimsical but it has some nice color and value contrast.
Let me know what you think!
~Reb

Monotype v. Monoprint

Artist Ron Pokrasso explained the difference between monotype and monoprint for us in the workshop since there is so much confusion around these terms.

Monotype is a technique, while monoprint is a concept.

Let me explain.

A monotype is a technique that uses a smooth plate made of plastic or metal to transfer ink to paper. The plate has no texture, no incised lines, no etching. You don't even need a press to transfer ink to paper. Some do not even consider it to be a true printmaking process since you cannot duplicate a monotype.
Each impression from the smooth plate will be unique.

Two Monotype plates ready for printing; the light
image on the left will be printed 1st as an under-painting. 

So why not just paint or draw on a piece of paper? Because by transferring the image from a hard substrate to the paper, you get transparencies of ink color and a quality of line and mark-making that cannot be duplicated by just painting on paper. Monotypes have a wonderful layered quality that can be very complex. A monotype can be simple and spontaneous or as long and involved as any oil painting; however, it takes great skill to be able to manipulate the ink without ending up with a whole lot of mud on a piece of paper. You can create a monotype using multiple plates, so their are layers of color and line.

A monoprint is one of a series of prints. There is a commonality to each impression, yet, each is unique but more like a variation on a theme rather than totally new image. That commonality is the underlying image from an etched plate, or other printmaking plate or stone.

See the similarity in these two images? They use the same Solarplate. They are part of  a series and are both monoprints. 

"Fig. 20, Friendly Aliens will Save Us, Orange Crop Circle"

"Fig. 20, Friendly Aliens will Save Us, The Glow Beneath". 

Cheers,
~Rebecca

Beyond Monotype Workshop in Santa Fe, part 1

Hi everyone! I'm back from the "Beyond Monotype" workshop given by Ron Pokrasso in Santa Fe at Making Art Safely and I am still trying to process everything I learned. 

To put it bluntly: I made a breakthrough with my work while I was there as I learned a very new process for me- monotype. To say that this workshop was merely "really good" was an understatement. (More on what makes a good workshop in a separate post).  It was a profound experience and it was exactly what I needed to get my work out of the doldrums of "solarplate printed on a somewhat painterly background" (My version of a monotype!) that I have been doing for months. When what you are doing with your art becomes too easy and you cease to be challenged, it's time to break out of your usual routine and take a leap! It can be really scary for some....and weirdly exciting and stressful for others. I took the leap with this workshop. In fact, everyone in the workshop had huge breakthroughs in their work. I urge you to think about taking a leap with your artwork this year! 

Ron Pokrasso demonstrating inking up a transparent PETG plastic plate. 

Learning the monotype process from Ron is a real treat since he combines it with other media...it's truly mixed media printmaking. We learned to combine various types of monotype mark-making such as reduction, contact, additive, multi-plate, ghost images, Chine-collé,  including my new favorite, making your own Chine-collé papers by printing Solarplates into Japanese washi. We  printed exclusively with Akua inks onto dry paper (!) and the results were amazing, with superior detail and vibrant, rich colors. Ron Pokrasso converted from traditional oil-based inks to the much safer Akua several years ago, so he really knows this product and knows how to get the most out of it. 

Ron demonstrating how to print a second plate over a ghost image. 

The resulting image....so far! He's not finished yet. 

A demonstration of adding contact monotype drawing to the print. Note the change in the intensity of the green: a "veil" of opaque white was applied to knock down the green. 

Three Chine-collé elements added to the print as well as
a textured bit of reddish ink on the bottom and yellow ink on the sides. 

I resisted adding Chine-collé to my work for a couple of days...until I was shown how to use a Solarplate (or other intaglio plate) printed on thin Japanese paper as a custom Chine-collé element. This got me really excited! I had brought a couple Solarplates, including a boat plate and tried it out. 

Look familiar? This was printed onto thin gampi, a  type of Japanese tissue paper. 

My plate inked and Solarplate print bits applied, ready to print. 

Ron showing how to integrate the Chine-collé bits into the print.

Cool stuff! I created fourteen 15"x22" prints (half sheet) in this workshop. Most of the prints are not resolved, but that's OK. I can continue to work on them over the next few weeks. Once they are finished, I will post them!
Here is the first print I made.  It's busy, chaotic, and exuberant  but it does have a certain charm. I might re-work it since it might be a little over the top, but for now, I'm OK with sharing. 

Coming off the press...this was done with two plates; the pink and orange colors are
on a separate plate, so it was run through the press twice.

More photos of the workshop coming soon: other people's prints, a little of the art in Santa Fe, and some finished prints from me! Just too much to tell in one afternoon....
Ciao,
~Rebecca