Our upcoming exhibit opens with a reception with the artists on Friday, May 16, 6-8 p.m., and will run through June 24.

Originally developed in the 17th century, monotypes are unique prints, sometimes created by running a zinc plate through a press multiple times, each time inked with different colors and shapes to achieve a layered quality. Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has images or lines that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, where there are multiple originals. Also known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, a monoprint is essentially a printed painting.The beauty of this medium is also in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting and drawing media.The difference between monoprinting and monotype printing is that monoprinting has a matrix that can be reused, but not to produce an identical result. With monotyping there are no permanent marks on the matrix. In the absence of any permanent features on the surface of the plate, all articulation of imagery is dependent on one unique inking, resulting in one unique print. Monoprints can be thought of as variations on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate – lines, textures – that persist from print to print. Variations are confined to those resulting from how the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are endless, but certain permanent features on the plate will tend to persist from one print to the next. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or other surface that will ultimately hold the work of art. Other methods that make a print “one of a kind” might be the addition of drawing, collage,or even sewing, to the printed impression of a woodblock, linoleum print or etching.

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