Monotype--so easy, so satisfying!

I'm teaching a workshop at Griffin School on Wednesdays this quarter, and this past Wednesday I covered reductive monotypes. I did a quick demo, of course, and here it is.

First things first: Have a beveled piece of plexi. I've marked the back of the plexi with Sharpie so I know where to wipe.

Clay dudes by artist Melanie Micale

I sketched something out based on one of these fun heads I bought in Brevard over the summer, by artist Melanie Micale, just so I wouldn't be at the front of the class with an empty noggin'.

Thief I, 10.5 x 16", monotype

I've created fun backgrounds spontaneously in the past, so there really isn't a reason to mark the back with Sharpie--you can just go for it. Here's and example of spontaneous.

Back to the head.
First I inked the entire plate in yellow, then took Q-tips and a paper towel to wipe away parts of the ink, then I ran it through the press. I used Akua intaglio inks on dry Arches 88. Then I wiped the plate clean, and reinked the plexi with a layer of red, wiped, attempted to register the plate and paper correctly, ran through the press... I finished up with a layer of blue and black using the same process.