I was first
introduced to mono printing years ago by an artist who manipulated
paint on a glass template with various tools and then ran the template through
a press and printed her designs one at a time on paper.
Watching that, I thought, “It’s truly
beautiful, but, no, it’s not for me!”
Yes, I enjoyed viewing the process.
It was very interesting and the final prints were quite beautiful. But, that was the end of my interest, or so I
thought.
Years later, in a class with
fiber artist, Joan Schulze, mono printing came back into my life. I admit it, I
started listening to her lesson with only half an ear because I already knew
about this process.
“Yada Yada Yada…mono-printing!”
This was nothing new.
Except wait! What was she
doing? She was not using a piece of glass as her template! Hmmm, That’s good, I’ve always seen that
rigid base as limiting and stuffy! She
pulled out and cut for herself a square piece of flexible plastic
sheeting! Flexible Sheeting? Really?
Next, she dug a teaspoon
into some bright and bold color fabric paints! Plop! A dab of vibrant color was
scooped out of a large jar and tapped onto a neighboring palette. She was getting ready to play! Okay, now she’d caught my attention!
What she showed me that day
revolutionized me. As I played with
mono-printing on fabric, I became obsessed and passionate about designing and
printing my own fabrics!
I had only one dilemma. What was that, you ask?
Well…..I hated my own marks” What? How
can you hate your own marks?
Okay, Have you ever drawn a
straight line and said, “AH! I cannot even draw a straight line!” Well, it was
something like that. I would draw a few
lines and then erase them. I would
scribble something and then throw the paper out. More and more, I was avoiding any moment when
I needed to make a mark, including in a sketchbook. I just didn’t keep one. (“One” being a
marker, or “one” being a sketchbook to mark in.)
At the same time, I was
noticing and admiring all the brave mark makers around me. I was coveting their
work. They were able to make such incredibly sophisticated marks! They were the true artists. They had no fear. They were brilliant! Yes, for a time there I had a chronic case of
mark maker envy!
Now, as I was being drawn
into mono-printing, what would I do about the hatred of my own marks? Wouldn’t
it be glaringly obvious that I was a klutz at this? Oh, Woe is me!
Tentatively, I held up a 2“ brush loaded with Indigo colored fabric paint. I bent slightly over the square
sheeting. I placed my feet squarely on
the floor and then with my whole arm, I swept the brush in a full arc over the
plastic. Parts of the stroke were full
of paint, other areas had a dry brush effect where I had unevenly pulled the
brush lightly over the plastic. The entire move was deliberate and honest and I
did it!
There rested my mark. It was huge, in color, in paint and just
sitting there. It looked so beautiful.
My excited brain said, “What? Wait, did I make that?” The less impressed
voice inside me, said, “Just print it already!” and I did.
When I saw that the print
was even better than the mark! I
thought, ”Hey, I could get used to this!” With my hands lightly covered with paint, I stood there for the first time, loving my mark. I have not been able to stop. It was a pivotal moment in my art career.
.JPG)
