Monoprinting with Plants

Ever since my experience at Haystack Mountain School of Craft (website) in 2018, I have been thinking about monoprinting. The technique was taught to me by Fraser Taylor (website) during his surface design workshop at Haystack. Prior to this technique, I had struggled with surface design because I felt extremely handcuffed in the world of repeats. Monoprinting let me break free from those expectations and I found I was very inspired by the speed and spontaneity of the technique.

To be clear, when I say monoprinting, I am referring to the technique by which you use an acrylic or gel sheet as your canvas, roll/paint on pigment, and then transfer your image to cloth or paper. There are a number of different ways to approach monoprinting, so it really is a technique with endless opportunities for exploration. Below is a quick and simple photo illustration of the process.

Now you may be wondering why I would venture into monoprinting if my capstone is more about form and not surface design!?! Good question! You are clearly paying attention. Honestly, I just really wanted to play in the studio and the setup for weaving can take awhile, so monoprinting just felt like an easy way to be creative ASAP. I also had a box of plant garbage that I thought may make interesting monoprinting subject matter. In the end, however, it turns out there were many good reasons for me to start my studio work with monoprinting, and the experience has reminded me yet again of the importance of allowing my gut and not always my mind to guide my process.

My key takeaways from this exercise:

1. Colour - Since my capstone concept is about decay, I found myself leaning towards a pretty subdued colour palette. From my monoprint experiments, however, I fell in love with the addition of fluorescent colours and was reminded of the power of using bright colours, even in subtle ways. I am now inspired to find ways to include some more acidic colours that can give nod to the chemicals present in decay and erosion.

2. Ephemeral - Part of what I love about monoprinting is the resulting aesthetic. There is an aged look to monoprints; a sense of a moment that has passed. This is a quality and characteristic I want to achieve in my woven work. And while I don't have the answer on how to do it yet, I value that my monoprints have given me a tangible sense of what that looks like.

3. Warmth - To me these monoprints are a story about aging and death, and yet they are warm and inviting. They illustrate fragility in form, but in an easy to accept and honest way. This is the vibe I want my work to have. I want people to feel comforted by my work, especially in the face of the fact that the subject matter is a bit depressing and grotesque. That is the tension I am going for.

In the end, I am very happy with my prints and I have no doubt that this work will result in a lot of other spin-off projects. In the meantime, I'm not sure if these prints or technique will continue to progress with the rest of my capstone work. Perhaps I will use them in my final capstone document? Or maybe they will find their way into the final piece! I guess we'll have to wait to find out.