Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Process not project - how not to monoprint

I have to keep telling myself it's all about the process, not the product. I am experimenting and learning, but I keep hitting roadblocks when I can't find a tool or medium locally. I've always been 'all about' making do and being creative with what you have but sometimes you just hit roadblocks. There are some techniques I've been wanting to try, and I did some shopping while I was away- the only place we have here is Walmart, and after they moved in and put other places out of business, they then cut back on their fabric and craft department, so now we have nothing here.
I started a linocut which I would like to use to print on fabric, but soon discovered that I didn't have all the right size blades. I want to use it with a silkscreen, but I can't find the right tape at the moment to seal the frame before I start. That's just a couple of things.
As a result, today I resorted to the old basic but easy method of pressing my design into a foam sheet and printing from that. I would like to do more doorways...here you can see the first one I experimented with-- it's printed on paper.
The next photo is of a mono print that I tried by laying paint onto Plexiglas with a brayer and drawing into it with a skewer. This was definitely an example of how not to do it. Let's see... the paint is too light, the leaves turned out as blobs, and I think a fold showed up in the print too, even though I did iron the fabric first. But... did I have fun? Yes, it's like being a kid again playing with the paints, and I want to try again; next time I will do the print with just the blue, and add the leaves to the fabric later after it dries.

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