5/7/2023 0 Comments Momotype printmaking![]() ![]() ![]() Hold the paper steady with one hand, while rubbing the back of the paper with either the baren or a metal spoon.Blot with a paper towel, and lay the damp side down on your inked and designed monotype. When your design is ready to print, pull a sheet of printmaking paper from the package or pad, and with your spray bottle, lightly spritz the side you'll be printing on.You can also use them to add more ink by dipping in the ink slab and adding darks to your design. Use your brushes or your gloved finger tip, or rolled paper towel, or cotton swabs to feather halftones in your design.If you need to rest your wrist while drawing, slide your drawing bridge over your ink plate so you can rest your hand on it above the ink.Pull out a reference photo, and without touching the inked plate with your hand, begin drawing into the ink with your rubber tipped tool, and cotton swabs.Now that your ink has been blotted, it should be less shiny, and a bit thinner on the plate. Peel the newsprint from the inked plate and discard it.When the plate is completely covered, if the ink appears loose, shiny or thick, lay a piece of newsprint on the plate, and very gently, with light pressure, smooth it with your hand as though you were smoothing a wrinkle from a bed sheet.Put a piece of non skid under your plexiglass printmaking plate (not necessary if you're printing from a gelli plate) and begin coating your plexiglass with a smooth, even coat of ink.Use your brayer to roll the ink out on the slab until it's evenly covering the brayer, and the slab, and you hear the ink "hiss" as you roll back and forth.Put a dollop of ink on the slab about the size of a cashew nut. Stir your printmaking ink until it's smooth and mixed well.Gather all supplies close at hand, and put on your apron and rubber gloves. Prepare a flat, clear surface to work on by covering it with newspapers.This excellent essay by Crystal Moody tells the story of her commitment to make one little piece of art each day for a year, and how it grew into a four year practice that changed her life. Some are returning to art supplies after years of creative hiatus. Lots of our friends are walking or doing yoga every day. Time to #StayHome has also encouraged new routines.When the world is healthy again, and we’re each re-assembling our post-COVID19 mobility, what will we change after this Pause to Reflect? Has the time at home gifted us a chance at new perspective on what we really need in order to flourish and feel satisfied? This article has been making the rounds on the subject, and some of the points are excellent fodder for dinner table discussion. Many of us are wondering how this Sheltering-In will be viewed by analysts in years to come.Read this article about the BS of Busy, and tell me what you think in the comments. Being Busy is a foundational mindset, when we let it run the show. We use that word to explain why we can’t get to art-making. When folks ask us how we’re doing, or what we’ve been up to, busy is grouted between the details. Parts of the detail on this print were lost in the transfer process ( common in monotypes), so colored pencil was added after the ink dried. And if you can’t draw, roll your ink in a sheer layer on something see-through so you can trace a photo slid underneath the plate. If you don’t have a sheet of plexiglass, you can use a sheet of drafting film, or a report cover, or the underside of a melamine tray. You can use printmaking ink, open (slow drying) acrylics, watercolors or water-soluble crayons and graphite. Monotypes can be printed in one color, or twenty. There aren’t any harsh chemicals or solvents. Monotype printmaking is quick and satisfying. The fact that you can pull out a plate, roll some ink on it, and start carving light into the image with a pencil eraser always delights me. I’ve been making painterly monotypes of one sort or another for 15 years, and they are still full of surprises. The white, waffle-ish non-skid keeps the plate from wiggling around while working in the ink. The artist drags cotton swabs and toothpicks through the ink to create an image. The ink is rolled onto the plate with a brayer, leaving a light, even cover of pigment. A monotype in process, on a sheet of plexiglass.
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