Printmaking
I adore printmaking. The methodic and repetitive work is very soothing to me. In university, I took printmaking classes every semester I could. I’ve worked with woodcut, lithography, collagraphy, monotype, intaglio etching techniques, and linocut.
This style of printmaking is so simple and so lovely. As an artist, I love when my mediums can flow together and this is a perfect example of two different styles coming together. Monotype printmaking uses watercolour as the pigment painted onto an acrylic or glass surface. The print is then transferred onto a damp paper and often there will be pigment left behind for a ghost print.
Monotype
This word comes from the Italian intagliare, meaning “to incise” or “to carve.” In intaglio printing, the lines or areas that hold the ink are incised below the surface of the plate, and printing relies on the pressure of a press to force damp paper into these incised lines or areas, to pick up ink. This is one of my favourite processes, highly technical, requiring a lot of patience.
Intaglio
This technique using materials glued to a base, sealed, and then ink is applied to create a beautiful textured print.
Collagraph
The oldest form of printmaking, woodcut is a relief process in which knives and other tools are used to carve a design into the surface of a wooden block. The raised areas that remain after the block has been cut are inked and printed, while the recessed areas that are cut away do not retain ink, and will remain blank in the final print.
