Thursday, January 18, 2007

When I go to my studio


When I go to my studio in Redwood City, I use a table-top etching press to make monotypes. I use oil-based printing ink to paint an image on plexiglass. I lay the painted glass face-up on the press, place a sheet of paper strategically on the glass, and roll it through. The paper and glass get rolled under a giant "rolling pin", and the intense pressure transfers the ink to the paper, with the image now in reverse.

Oftentimes the image turns out differently than what I expected, which is one reason I love monotyping. As you may have gathered from the name, only one print can be made in this process. However it is common to sometimes run the glass once more on a new sheet of paper, which results in a faint "ghost" image. Sometimes these turn out more beautifully than the original and more color / new shapes can be added to the glass for several more run-throughs, to create rich layering.

2 comments:

jnichols959 said...

that is gorgeous! the process alone sounds pretty cool. i did the idea of only one print...

Jessica Nichols said...

this is fascinating to me. how do you paint on glass? i imagine the paint running wild and slipping sliding everywhere. i would love to watch you do this once and see how it works. thanks for sharing!