This workshop was both practical and fun. Hannah, our enthusiastic and inspiring tutor for the session, said that all we needed to bring was a disposition to ‘play’ and that, was how it worked out. Hannah combined artistic insight with thorough organisation to unleash the creativity of our group.
This was a high energy ‘print shop’. Guttenberg himself might well have been impressed. We explored two different ways to create a monotype print. We worked with a single colour, Prussian Blue on white newsprint, which produced bright images. No specialist tools were needed (no printing press!). The first technique was “Monochrome Linear Monotypes” – placing paper on an inked-up slab and drawing on the back to achieve a positive image. The second was “Painterly Monotypes” – painting the image on the slab to achieve a negative image.
Intense concentration was matched by peals of laughter. Fears of inky fingerprints were banished by wearing vinyl gloves and aprons. Soon the first images began to appear. The prints that we made had a freshness, diversity and authenticity that ‘Artificial Intelligence’ systems would surely find hard to match. Who knew that you could have so much fun with a golf ball without going outside?
We each left the class not only with a collection of amazing prints but also a new technique that we would be able to explore at home without special equipment or expense. As we headed home, some of us were even spread the fruits of our labours via social media to friends and family.
What a really amazing workshop!
Michael Browne
Friends of the Hatton 