In front of a packed and attentive audience, Sarah Anderson demonstrated her unique way of creating figurative monotypes.
She begins by painting ink on the plate with a brush which she then rolls out with a brayer to create a thin and even surface.
Once all elements of the image are on the plate, she creates pattern and textures by removing ink with q-tips or small pieces of cardboard. This is how she creates the flower design of the dress and highlights in hair. Once all parts of the image are to her satisfaction, she will draw the fine details with a “needle applicator,” a squeeze bottle topped with a fine metal tip specifically designed for the water-based Akua monotype inks used at New Grounds.
The finished plate is now placed on the press bed.
Tanya Landin, the ever so capable New Grounds workshop and gallery assistant, places the printing paper on top of the inked plate. The press blankets are then lowered on top of the paper, and the press is hand-cranked to apply pressure to the inked plate which causes the ink to transfer to the printing paper. Since this is a monotype, the image is created completely out of ink and only one good impression can be pulled from this plate. Theoretically it is possible to print the remnants of the inked plate on a clean sheet of paper; the resulting image is called a “ghost print.”
The finished monotype is lifted off the plate to the amazement of the crowd. Sarah Anderson made this look very easy which comes with years of experience. Check out Sarah Anderson to see more of her work. If you are interested in learning monotypes, the next four day class will take January 17, 18, 24 and 25 at New Grounds.
We welcome any comments you might have about Sarah’s work!
Submitted by Regina Held, director of New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery
