Monoprints from personal objects
Task 1 – this task relates to project 1; from my beginnings collection I have selected the following prints.
At this point I hadn’t realised that I should be printing with borders and with little room to dry prints flat, photocopy paper (dry & damp) has curled and crumpled. But, this has been an interesting exercise so see how different techniques, paper and tools can be used in the printing process.
Task 2 – this task relates to project 2; and I have chosen what I believe to be my best prints where negative and positive masks have been used to print.
Task 3 – this task relates to project 3; the chosen prints demonstrate use of colour, double masking and good and bad registration.
This print has been lifted from a yellow inked plate with a positive mask. Poor registration, but one of my best has resulted in a misaligned negative print. had the alignment been correct there would still have been lots of white space, for some reason I am unable to pick up all of the ink from the plate. Whilst misaligned this image is about movement and I think that there is an energy in the misalignment.
After much trial and error I finally arrived at a goodish registration. Positive masks have been placed on yellow ink applied with a paintbrush dipped in fabric conditioner. Using the negative mask as a guide I have back drawn into the shapes to had vibrancy of colour, the scribble effect adds elasticity to each shape.
Three layers of ink, (red, yellow and orange) have been used to lift this print from ghost and outline images left when the masks are removed. My registration is totally wrong and when printing the red I even had the paper upside down, However I think this has added to the wonderful mix of colours that have been achieved.
Inked in blue and then imprinted with bubble wrap and netting to create background texture. Positive masks have been used to create 3 white spaces, 2 of which have been inked again, along with the fourth flower from the left, using a negative mask. Finally a positive mask (small flowers and right flower) has been inked and then laid onto the print, to give a softer feel and in the case of the fourth flower, add further detail.
Task 4 – this task relates to project 4; I have chosen prints that demonstrate a combination of techniques and colour used in the previous projects.
I was looking for an industrial texture as a backdrop for my tools sketch and consequently lightly inked mixed media 250g paper and then added ink to the plate using hessian. Negative masks and back drawing were used to apply the tools and key. There is on the right hand side an overlapping of the hessian print, this is a bit of a quirky trademark of mine where in other disciplines such as mosaic and weaving I sometimes take the image outside of the image frame. Maybe not something that is correct in printmaking!
Taking inspiration from the colours in my garden the inked plate was sprinkled with water before printing to give a soft array of colour interspersed with harsher spots of colour. The colours were added to the flowers in masked layers, some registered fine, others not. I struggled with reaching the same consistency of ink, so some of the layers are less defined. Bubblewrap and hessian have again been used to add further texture.
Printed onto a previously printed background using the last remnants of the printing plate and a clothes peg. In this example I have drawn onto the plate using the bubble wrap, cardboard, paint brush, bamboo stick and a foam pad in several layers, lifting the print between each layer. Finally I added the small purple flowers with a mask. As I said in project notes, this image is a bit busy, but it does demonstrate use of colour and techniques, shame that the registration marks are visible on the paper!
Following on from my talking tools in project 3, my thistles look like they are having a good chinwag! Using two colours, the prints were lifted from the plate after the masks had been removed, this gave an outline to work with as I tried to line up my registration before back drawing with a stronger purple.
My Pinterest Board – Printmaking1 Monoprints:
Reflection –
Demonstration of technical and visual skills – While I have done some printmaking before (8 week evening course) this was the first time that I had encountered several different forms of monoprinting and it took me a while to get my head around the term ‘monoprinting’. For me mono has always related to colour, eg; use of colour in photography or textile and not a term that means a unique / one off piece of work
Having finally mastered the term I think that my techniques have improved with each project, building on knowledge previously acquired and I have particularly enjoyed building layers by drawing onto and into an inked plate. I began part 1 with oil based inks and then because I found them too messy, moved over to water based ink, and I’m not sure which I prefer, maybe a bit more experimenting is required before making judgement.
My sketching is improving, especially when I use an ink pen, I seem to dive in and make loose repeated and overdrawn marks, but I still need to put more ideas down on paper and plan my work so that I don’t get lost in my printing method.
Quality of outcome – As I have mentioned above I do need to plan my work in a more structured way and try to be less messy and careful when handling paper. I also need to have more confidence in using heavier paper, practice makes perfect!
I have recently purchased a couple of books printmaking and I need to find time to delve in for a read so as to understand some of the printmaking methods, find out why things may go wrong, and learn from established printmakers.
Demonstration of creativity – I think that one of my strong points is that I am not adverse to experimenting, in fact I love it and at times don’t know when to stop and get on with the task at hand. I am also lacking in the ability to stop and write comprehensive notes on my doings and findings and therefore I sometimes struggle to repeat something that I have previously discovered.
Context – My learning log follows an established method that I have built on over my previous two courses. As well as recording my work and findings I always write a small end of project review; any research is also added. I find it can be difficult to view artwork on line, textures, colours, meaning do not translate well; I have discovered many wonderful artists and works over the years that have had some influence on the work I produce and in the case of Tracey Emin review work that I would previously never have entertained.
BILLYDOOPRINT1 