What is a Clay Monoprint?
The Concept . . .
Using wet china clay . . . colors, textures and images are layered onto a slab of clay and then printed/transferred from this slab to a substrate creating one of a kind prints.
The Process . . .
Working on a prepared slab of clay, I mix dry china clay with water and permanent pigments to make colored slip (a wet clay) and layer slip on the slab. I then add additional layers of colored slip, textures and images to create a story.
Pulling a Print . . .
When I am ready to pull a print, using dry wall tape I section off the image and make sure I have inlayed all of the clay and textures.. I then lay a piece of Reemay (a substrate made of recycled water bottles) on top of the clay slab and press it down to attach it to the image. Then with a (pastry) roller I begin to transfer the image onto the substrate. Slowly a thin layer of clay and pigment comes alive on the substrate. It takes patience to make sure the entire image transfers onto the substrate and matches what was on the slab. Because a layer of clay and pigment are removed to create the print, what is left on the slab will be different and often enables a second pull of the print which is similar but different. No two prints will ever be the same for this reason, making them one of a kind.
