ARTS EDUCATION:  PAINTERLY  PRINTMAKING
                                                  MONOTYPE!  WHAT IS IT ?

Known as the most painterly method among printmaking techniques, the monotype is essentially a printed painting. It is the simplest and least exacting of all of the processes. Some of the other recognizable names for printmaking processes are: etching, woodcut, silkscreen, lithography, engraving, aquatint and others.

By definition printmaking is any process by which an image is transferred from one surface (a matrix) to a second absorbent surface.  As children we experienced very basic forms of printmaking such as a handprint pressed on paper with finger paints or printing with a carved potato.  Monotype remains one of the least expensive methods. The artist may have little or no previous experience to turn out an original piece of artwork. Spontaneity and experimentation are the mystique of the monotype.   The experienced artist can  employ his or her own painting techniques and add the most delicate or complicated of markings and drawings.

Basic printmaking processes have been used since the first Neolithic cave paintings were executed. The Chinese developed a type of relief printing a thousand years before other civilizations. Printing spread along the Silk Road to the Mediterranean and on to the New world.  It was, of course, the manner in which all books and newspapers were printed until this century.  From Durer, to Rembrandt, to Picasso, famous artists used various forms of printmaking.  Eduard Degas used the monotype as an under painting for his famous pastels of ballet dancers.

A monotype is made by working with printers ink, water based paints, crayons or pastels, oil paints or acrylic paints on a smooth surface, also called a plate. Examples of plates are: Plexi-glass, glass, metal or whatever will work. The initial process is executed quickly by painting, wiping, drawing, and imprinting textured objects. The image is transferred to paper before it dries. The transfer can be done by hand, assisted with simple objects or with the use of a printing press.  Hand transferred prints will produce more of a textured look.  Press transfers can make a smoother more solid looking print.  When dry an artist may enhance a monotype further with other media, it is then called a monoprint.

The imagination knows no bounds when working with the monotype. The monotype creates a one-a-kind print with a surface unlike any other art. It is a technique that is fun, easy to learn, and gives almost instant results. This method of printmaking opens up a new freedom for the painter as well as the uninitiated in the world of art.

Carol is a former public school teacher and Community Ed teacher in Fine Arts and a college lecturer in Fine Arts and Archaeology. She has owned and operated Cara Studios since 1991 where she, exhibits her own works of art, offers cultural art performances and historical tours. She was recently featured on HGTV. She is offering private art classes for adults and children.

Printmaking will resume in Winter 2006  Please check back or call for date.
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