...than meets the eye. I usually monoprint with ink, fabric paint or transfer paints, but today, for some unknown reason, I decided to monoprint with transfer dye, instead. In case you're wondering, the difference (as they used to say on a long defunct advert) is in the thickness; transfer paints are thicker than transfer dyes. I'm really rather pleased with the results. The paper I'm using is newsprint, my paper of choice for working with transfer dyes and paints, as it is thin and therefore doesn't hold onto as much of the dye as a thicker paper might. And here are the end results, with one or two painted papers mixed in.
These are, as you can see, fairly large papers, so the monoprinting process was done, not on glass, or my favourite plastic, but direct onto the surface of a picnic table; worked a treat. Here's a closer look at one of the prints.
Monoprinting has to be the simplest form of printing, and the most direct. However, there is, I believe, more to it than meets the eye when you're working in textile. The six million dollar question for me is, where is the stitch going to go? There has to be room for stitch in your design; if it looks absolutely perfect without stitch, then it probably is, and you should leave it be. If it's really ornate and fiddly, there might also not be room for stitch. So I like to keep my monoprinting simple, and try to remember that this is not the end of the process, but rather, the beginning.
The other half-day workshop I'm teaching at FOQ is on monoprinting (Friday and Sunday). I've been working on some small samples to show my pupils, and to hang on the stand, as well as making up monoprint kits to sell. The workshop is called 'Monoprint Magic'. So, what's the magic? Well, that would be telling...you'll just have to come and take part, to find out!
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