I'm late! This month I would love for you to try this experiment with monoprinting. Get yourself a stack of unruled index cards, the large ones (5" x 8"), and be reckless with pulling prints. (I buy mine at Staples in packages of 500 for less than $10. 100 for less than $4) The more you make the more you will learn. I want you to discover its coolness without concern about how or when you will use it. Playtime can lead to lots of learning.
During a curiosity cruise in my studio I discovered this and hope you will try it. I am illustrating how to pull prints through a method called monoprinting. That simply means you make a singular print from an original painted foundation. However, in this experiment I really want you to go for the 2nd print. The way we are laying out the surface it turns out the 2nd print is more interesting than the first. I also discovered that a cool print can be had when you spray the remaining surface with water - I went to clean the plexi and before wiping I took a quick print. Good thing I had my huge stack of cards ready to go. The surface I used was a 8" x 10" plexi box frame but you can use a piece of glass from a photo frame too (tape the edges so you don't cut yourself!)
While you have that big stack of cards you can also review some of the monoprinting we have covered earlier. Remember: it's about playing to get familiar with a technique. You'll have a pile of really groovy prints that you can collage onto a journal page later, or just save in your file of "that was cool".
So there it is. Experiment with monoprinting and a pile of paper. You will discover things about the process only by trying it. You will learn what painterly effects you like and don't like. You will figure out how much paint to use for best results. You will determine how to rub the back of the paper, and how quickly you have to work only through trial and error. There is no failing here - it's playtime afterall.
Give it a try. Allow yourself playtime. Take photos along the way and share them on your blog. Tell us what worked and what didn't - your epiphanies and your disasters. We will all learn from one another as we share these things. Leave a comment below with a link to your site and I will place you on the list to the left so we can all come for a visit and leave our applause. Have fun!!
EDIT: Archive links have been moved from sidebar to here. (I cannot guarantee all links have remained active).
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