MM&S E Zine
Dedicated to Unique Mark Making
Monoprint Monotype & Strappo Summer 2016
Volume I Issue 3
OUR MISSION Monoprint-Monotype.com understands the importance of providing a venue for this unique form of art. Our matrix is as open as the imaginations of the artists it supports. To that end we will explore the work of emerging, established and surprising artists from around the world. They will be presented here and in our on-line magazine.
Included Artists; Bruce Waldman Joan Appel Susan Barnes Katina Giesbrecht
Cover Image, Angel of Death, by Bruce Waldman Š2016 Monoprint-Monotype Reproduction of this e zine in whole or part is prohibited without permission. All artwork has been reproduced with the kind permission of the artists.
The easiest way to understand the difference between a Monoprint and a Monotype is to understand the underlying block or matrix.
Monoprint When beginning a Monoprint, permanent marks are produced on the surface. This creates a common feature on successive works. But there would be an endless variation of images according to the application of medium, (paint, ink, chalk), and whether additional collage elements are added. Monotype A Monotype on the other hand is created on a smooth surface. Similar to monoprinting, a variety of mediums and elements can be incorporated on the surface. But there are no permanent features that transfer to successive works. Once the image is transferred, except for the occasional ghost print from excess medium, the surface is freed from the created work of art and the chosen surface now holds the art work. Strappo A Strappo is a dry image transfer technique that has been recognized as a specific printmaking monotype procedure by the Print library at New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a sample Strappo is in the print library collection. A Strappo is a combination of painting and printing. They are a monotype from a reverse painting, resulting in a dry acrylic transfer developed on a smooth surface such as glass.
If you are a Monoprint or Monotype artist we are interested in what you have to say and what you have to show. If you are interested contact us for more information at; Don@Monoprint-Monotype.com
Susan Barnes Susan Barnes, a native of New Jersey, began painting over thirty years ago. Her career took a different direction while raising her children. During that period she designed and created hand wrought jewelry in silver and gold. In 1995 she returned to painting, starting with pastels before returning to oils. Seeking her own educational path, at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, and by attending various workshops, she has learned from a generation of painters that studied under Arthur De Costa at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Seascapes and landscapes, which the artist describes as representational with a focus on atmosphere and mood, are her most recurring themes. Her inspiration comes from her love of the coastal areas of the state where she has spent summers since childhood. She wants the viewer to be able to step inside the work, to feel the sun and smell the sea. Contact Information: susan@susanbarnesfineart.com susanbarnesfineart.com
While at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, she enrolled in a printmaking class using pronto plates and became intrigued with all forms of printmaking, especially the types using less toxic materials. Doing some research on printmaking methods she discovered gelatin could be used as the plate for monotype and has been using the process ever since. Monotype printmaking which shows painterly brushstrokes and depth through subtle tonal changes and because of its spontaneity and unpredictability, is her printmakingmethod of choice. Working in monochrome, not only for the qualities it conveys, but to clearly differentiate them from her usual work in oils has been her choice. The artist is the recipient of numerous awards which includes a Purchase Award by Burlington County for their permanent collection. Her paintings grace the walls of private collectors across the country and Switzerland. She has served as juror, curator, and taught both demos and workshops for various art centers.
Dingy and the Lighthouse
Bay Ancorage
Ranunculas in Glass
The Bath
Model in Repose
Susan Barnes
Caught by the Wind
Cats on the Bay
Birds at Shoreline
Edge of the Sea
Feature Interview
Bruce Waldman
MM: I understand you will be showing your work, teaching, and demonstrating how Degasยน monotype pieces were technically created. Can you give us a little preview of what we can expect?
Bruce: What I am planning to do in the back to back workshops at MOMA is first show some of my work, and then show the tools that I use to make the marks and textures that are in my prints. I will also discuss the simi larities and the differences between the techniques that I use to the ones Degas used, and discuss in depth Degas process. Then I will do a demonstration, and create a few monotypes while everyone is watching in a few of the varied techniques that I have developed. Then everyone who is participating can create and print their own image with my assis tance. Justin Sanz, the master printer, and director of the Robert Black burn Printmaking Workshop will be there with me to help everyone pull their own print.
Mad Bull
MM:
Do you have a favorite medium for creating monoprints and monotypes?
Bruce: "I work on a large piece of Plexiglas and tape a white piece of paper to the back so that I can clearly see my image while I am working it up. I use only oil based printing inks; mostly etching, but sometimes combined with litho. I use the inks straight out of the container, and do not add oil or any kind of thinning substances or solvents to thin the ink. I draw and apply the ink to the Plexiglas directly with small rubber rollers of varying widths, using the flat part of the roller for larger areas, and drawing with the edge of the roller for line work. It is hard to control drawing with the rollers, so it forces me to draw and paint on the Plexiglas in a spontaneous manner, not trying to tightly control my lines and marks while I am making them.
If I don't like parts of the image, I just wipe them away and redraw them. I work both dark on light, and also pull lights out of dark areas with a cloth or paper towel, and then press inked textures and materials on to the image. Sometimes they don't completely work when I print them, so I pin them up on the wall and work directly back into them with printing inks, rollers, pressed textures, and brushes. I only use one plate, and only run it through the press once.
This is a very direct and raw way to work. It is really for people who are not that interested in complex techniques, and who love to draw and paint directly and spontaneously. I usually create many bad prints before I get a few that I am really happy with. I love working this way because it allows me to attack the plate with a reckless abandon, which gives the images a feeling of wild motion. I developed these techniques over many years of experimentation as a reaction to creating hundreds of small, intricate, and technically complex etchings; which I also tremendously enjoy making.
Trumpet Guy
Guy Pointing
MM:
What does your typical studio day look like as if anything is typical for an artist?
Bruce: I get into the studio whenever I can, my schedule permitting. When I was younger I used to go in with an idea or a sketch of what I was going to work on that day, But the last number of years I have been going in with only the impulse to work and no idea. I work spontaneously, running on impulses of the moment now, and often the image ends up changing in the process of creating it, and ends up being completely different then it started out to be. Not knowing what it will look like at the end, and allowing for accidents helps keep the whole process exciting for me. A little like jumping out of an airplane, with a parachute of course!
MM: There is no ignoring the plight of people and animals in your work. Yet there is still a spark of humanity and hope or, are we seeing irony? Bruce: Absolutely! Pessimism, irony, heart break, and also amazingly a little hope and optimism, all mixed together in a mess of intense contradictory emotions. I try to keep sane by working, and emptying these feelings out and into my work. So I guess my work is my therapy also.
Raging Bull
MM:
Emerging artists are always asking how do you stay focused and inspired to work. So I put it to you where do you find your inspiration?
Bruce: I don't need inspiration to work or stay focused. I am all bugged up just existing in this intense and confusing reality that we all call life. (All I have to do is read the newspaper!) I need a place to release this, and I do it through my work. Sometime I get caught up in teaching, or commissions, and can’t get into the studio to do my own work for a while. I start feeling really uncomfortable, actually in a kind of pain which won’t lift until I get into the studio.
Judge Pointing
Elephant’s Trunk
Man in Mountain
Obscured face
Bruce Waldman "As long as I can remember, I have had an uncontrollable obsession to make images; to tell stories with pictures; to tell my story. I donยนt understand why this is so; I never consciously wanted to be an artist when I was young. I never thought of it as a romantic idea, actually quite the opposite. When I thought about it rationally, it seemed to me that you would have to be crazy to go into the arts.
The art for me has worked as a kind of escape hatch, and has helped me to survive difficult experiences and personal crisis. It has given me a place to hide when I needed one, a place to reflect on things that I have experienced that I did not understand, and most of all it has empowered me to take hurtful experiences and turn them into something positive and powerful; a kind of internal catharsis. I really understand how this works, but I donยนt know where I would be now without the art. One of the things that especially attracted me to the printmaking process in general, and etching in particular, is the kind of textural background plate tone that you can get, which can give the image an atmospheric smoke, or fog. Because my works are emotional, and tend to be a little on the dark side, this helps me to recreate the kind of mood that I feel inside. I love making monoprints and monotypes because of the possibility of being wildly spontaneous, and attacking the plate with a reckless abandon. I am very interested in movement, and this allows me to work in a way that accentuates a feeling of movement."
Men at Counter
Horse Woman
Horse Race
Bruce can be contacted at (908) 337-3432 and via emal at Bruce@BruceWaldman.com His work can also be seen at http://www.oldprintshop.com Read more about workshops, exhibits and other events at http://www.BruceWaldman.wordpress.com
Katina Giesbrecht
I enjoy making art in a variety of ways - drawing, painting, monotypes and collage. Each artistic discipline inspires and challenges me to improve my skills and each will take a lifetime to master. I find when I focus for a time on one discipline, say drawing, the time spent benefits other areas of my creative work too. Then I set drawing aside for a while and jump with new enthusiasm to painting or monotypes. At the core of who I am is someone who wants to keep growing and exploring art. Katina Giesbrecht is a visual artist from Surrey, B.C., Canada. She works in a variety of media including monotypes, monoprints, drawing, painting, and collage. She has a Bachelors degree in Applied Design from Kwantlen University. She lives with her family in Cloverdale, Surrey and works from a home studio. Contact Information katinagiesbrecht.com katinagiesbrecht@gmail.com
Creating monotypes is an exercise in letting go. Although you can have an initial plan of the monotype you want to create, monotypes are spontaneous in the effects they yield. It really is a process that demands improvisation. This art form has stretched me and impelled me towards a more intuitive process.
Just a Mood IV
Tranquil Winterland
Layers and textures have always fascinated me. I'm drawn to peeling paint or the juxtaposition of textures. I explore layers in my creative work though the building up and peeking though of color.
Remembering Monet
Taupe Landscape II
My pieces have an element of restfulness to them, through the subject matter and the use of calming colors. In a fast paced world I desire to find peace through artful expression and to share these serene images with others.
Lonely Little Tree
In Praise of Praries IV
Katina Giesbrecht In Praise of Praries II
Composite Colors I
Joan Appel
I wear two hats: professional musician and artist. I have studied music and art since I was a small child, beginning in Concord Massachusetts where I was the only child in the school system with an Armenian last name: Nahigian. The school department's music director became my mentor, perhaps because he was Armenian too, but also because I had music talent - a good singing voice and prowess (eventually) on the piano. Along with the music study, I was fortunate to be able to take art classes at the local museum, won prizes in student shows, and eventually, in high school, had the encouragement of the art teacher to continue exploring media.
When I graduated from high school, I had to make the choice between music and art as a career. I chose music, as I had been given scholarships and performance opportunities.
I never stopped making art. Through years of study of music, the earning of several degrees, performing as a soloist both in the U.S. and Europe, wherever I was, I attended painting workshops and created. Several years into my singing career I took some classes at Paier College of Art in Hamden, CT. There, I was introduced to print-making and more specifically, to the creation of monoprints. Later, I worked with an artist at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, learning more about the techniques of creating these "painterly prints". I live in Marshfield, MA. I have a music studio and an art studio in my home. As Joan Nahigian (my legal name) I teach piano and voice, conduct the chorale at a retirement community (give concerts and provide music for special services there), play organ and piano for church services. I coach and accompany vocal and instrumental soloists for auditions and concerts. And, wearing my other hat as Joan Appel, I create monotypes and mixed media pieces. I am a member of the Boston Printmakers, as well as other local art guilds. I have won many prizes in competitions, and my art has been shown in national and international shows here in the States and in England.
Giverny
Contact Information joanappel16@gmail.com www.joanappel.com
A Rush of Water
My art is an extension of myself. As I work though my life, and am affected by the heights and depressions which life offers, my experiences are reflected in my art. The creative personality as such , is diversely influenced in the course of existence by circumstance. It is inevitable that these experiences and forces, reflected in the emotions, would be expressed in an artist's creation. I paint what I feel, always projected onto what I see. The works of Helen Frankenthaler have been a personal inspiration. She said it best: "...consistent insistence on [your] own intuition is the sole rationale for [your] work...you can do anything, but since I feel that whatever you do, if you present it to yourself or the world as art, it has to be beautiful, and has to work...one hopes that every picture will be a new birth, a fresh experience within a growing framework...art is in many ways, what the artist who made it is about."
There is an eloquence to working in the media of monotypes. The way I proceed I must work very fast lest the pigments dry before I can transfer them to paper. In my studio I do not use a printing press. I create an image with oil paints or printing inks on a thick glass plate using brushes and brayers. I subtract elements by wiping off paint or add them back in. I place prepared printing paper onto the image (rag Rives BFK or synthetic Yupo), apply pressure with an antique oak rolling pin, other implements or my hands and pull off one image. When dry, I sometimes add elements to the piece with ink, pastel or oil crayons.
Into the Hills
Dynamics
Climate Change
Epiphyllum
Flow is everything. In life and in art. The real truth occurs when it comes spontaneously, without the drudgery of premeditation. I suppose that my philosophy of art is the same as that which I follow in life. Painting/living without prejudice allows for serendipity, without which no creative soul could exist.
I am both a professional musician and artist. I experience life as having order as well as disorder through sound and sight. I create art along with music. The execution of the painting therefore becomes a personal performance, as were my song recitals when I was singing professionally, the one difference being: I am not interpreting someone else's poetry - I am creating my own in color and shape.
Enigma
Off the Coast