Monday, February 18, 2013

Playing with monoprints

In my studio last month I explored printing with some plants from my garden - a perennial silver bush (unable to be identified) and the flower heads from my Italian Parsley.

It wasn't a complex printing session, but just a relaxing exploration of a couple of plants I wanted to try before I did some garden trimming.

The flower heads were rather thick and juicy, so I first ran one through the press with butchers paper to get rid of some of the excess moisture.  I then printed with it - the first print is show below.  The green colour is actually from the plant not from ink, it still had plenty of liquid, staining the paper. 

The first print

The second print (the ghost print) captured the delicate structure of the flower head.  As the plant was so fresh, it fell apart as I removed it from the plate.  I had to use the tweezers to methodically pick off the individual soft seeds that stuck to the plate....a zen moment requiring much care and patience!

The second print

The third print was used as a base for another print, using a paper mask to highlight the flower head image, which was much fainter at this stage.
The third print

16 comments:

  1. nice one Sandra. Love all three of this little series

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  2. Love your work, Sandra. Just found you through Gelli's page on Facebook. Have subscribed.

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    1. Yes love the monoprinting, whether I use my gelli-plate or my etching press. The results are just magical and often quite unexpected!

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  3. the ghost print is always my favorite!! another thing you can do if you dont want juicy plants it to press them in a book for a few days and then print with them!

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  4. wow...this is incredible....I love each print..but especially the bright green of the first one!

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  5. Lovely results, Sandra, and thankyou for explaining the process you used. I'm a beginner print maker and thirsty for all the tutoring I can get! Since we're on an international board...I live in New Zealand! I have made prints of one of our native plants, "Five Finger" which I would include here for you if I could!


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    1. Hi Ellen, great to hear you've enjoying your printmaking, its a wonderful medium with so many great techniques to explore. Cheers from Australia, Sandra.

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  6. Gorgeous prints! I just found your blog via Pinterest.

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  7. I actually love the first one. The bright green against the Royal blue is a winner. The delicacy of the second is of course also extremely beautiful.

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  8. Where are you located in Australia?

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    1. Brisbane. My studio is www.artfromtheurbanwilderness.com.au

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