For auntie Kath who asks....

....why is it called mono printing?

Def: Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has images or lines that cannot exactly be reproduced. There are many techniques of monoprinting, including collage, hand-painted additions, and a form of tracing by which thick ink is laid down on a table, paper is placed on top and is then drawn on, transferring the ink onto the paper.

Mono....meaning one....means you only get one print that can't be reproduced exactly. Altho, after I print onto a piece of fabric, I'll get the paint wet again and print a similar piece. The printing looks different on different papers or fabrics. For example, I've printed on plain paper, card stock, magazine paper, and grocery paper bags. Each print looks different. I've also torn up an old cookbook and used those pages to print on too (see pic)...I think it looks cool. It's fun for collaging. Eventually I'll embellish the prints above...they aren't done yet...stay tuned. This is great project to do with kids. I'm planning on doing this with Amy's kids soon.

When mono-printing and thread painting collide.

Art Journaling. Blue.

So I've wanted to do some art journaling, but I never know what to art journal about. I made this one a few summers back and it was fun. I recently came across this blog where the author, Diana Trout, gives what are called journal prompts.The first one was to take a handful of scraps of paper or fabric or whatever and just glue them down. Easy enough. I started with my mono-printed flower and just went from there. Most of the stuff just came from around my desk (and the floor). It ended up being a study of blue. Fun. Mostly mindless.Art Journaling.

 

The next prompt is to take your camera with you everywhere you went today taking random pics. Which I've done....and am doing.I don't know yet what we'll be doing with these pics....that's next weeks prompt. Looking forward to it!

Monoprinting

I started an art class at Elgin Community College just for the fun of it and......its really fun! This is our teacher, Mary. She is demonstrating how to do mono-printing. Each week, Mary will be teaching us a new art technique. Last week we learned about using colored pencils. Next week, we'll be bringing the mono-prints back to class and embellishing them with chalk and colored pencils. 

Of course I couldn't wait to get home to play some more after class. Here's a little tutorial on what we learned.

First, gather all your supplies. I happily trotted over to JoAnns and bought a new set of watercolor paints. You will also need brushes, a piece of glass (from a picture frame works just fine), papers with different textures (different textured paper gives different looks (Some of the paper I used was from as old cookbook with recipes on them..see below), water, a paint tray and a spray bottle with water in it.

Begin by painting directly onto the glass. You can paint a simple picture or just place random color all over the glass and see what you come up with. I painted a simple flower.

You need to work fairly quickly as the paint dries fast. This is where the spray bottle comes in. If you lightly mist the surface of your painting, it will then be wet enough to transfer.

Next, place a sheet of paper over the top of your painting and press lightly.

Then, gently remove your paper and your image has then been mono-printed!

Very Cool! It looks so artsy!

(MFA will probably say it looks like kid art, but I will just stick my tongue out at her and blow raspberries  ;)

After it dries, you can embellish on top of it.

Here's some pears and eggplants I also did.The eggplant in the middle is on fabric...woohoo! One of the pears is on fabric, too. Let the embellishing begin!