Monotype Printmaking

Our studio time begins with a series of demo, bookbinding, printmaking, pinhole cameras and watercolors. I was thrilled to begin with bookbinding as that is something I enjoy and feel very confidant in. I have an elaborate book in process that has inner boards for cribbage and a hollow second half of the book to store the cards and pegs. Cribbage is something I have become increasingly obsessed with over the past year. I love the formality of the rules and game play. It is very clearly a British game as my friends complain.

These books are to be used to document our time in Spain in some manner. I was drawn to creating a book that has half the space for the writing and the other half consumed by a game. Travel games are something you grow up with trying to entertain yourself in the car. Travelling as an adult I find myself doing similar things for distraction. This lost travel time is what we are trying to log. I am working on an artist statement to put in the beginning of my book that I will share later with photos.

Our second demo is making monotypes. I have never done printmaking so this was all very intimidating. I do not enjoy drawing or painting so I expected an immediate distaste for it. As I told my professor, I was pleasantly surprised at what I could do feeling so limited by my drawing abilities.

This trip requires a final project that may begin at any time. Most students will be beginning after our trip to Bilbao but I find myself needing much more time. My initial interest in this trip was to continue my work and thoughts about maps, how people piece land and maybe even our notions of home. I am in the initial sketches of the project and that same theme came out in my printmaking. There might need to be more so I can experiment sewing on them. I also might try using watercolors to transform these maps to resemble all the incredible stained glass we have been seeing.