Textural Monotypes

Last month my printmaking class experimented with textural monotypes.  A textural monotype involves blackening a plate with ink, placing textured materials on top, and printing the plate.  The areas with textures placed on top will print white unless rolled with ink, and the background will print black.  The fun part about textural monotypes is rearranging the textures and reprinting the plate.  Moving the textural materials will leave impressions in the ink on the plate, and will coat the back of the textured material with ink.

This set of prints was created using yarn, part of an old knit sweater, die cut scrapbook paper, lace, and ric-rac.

This set of prints was created using lace, die cut scrapbook paper, paper doilies, and a photocopy of a photograph.

I transferred the photo using a paper lithograph technique.  I coated the photocopy with gum arabic, which allowed ink to stick to the black areas of my photocopy, and resist the white areas.  It basically turns the photocopy into a temporary printing plate.