Last Wednesday I got to spend a couple hours with Kathy Klompas at Ragged Edge Printmaking Studio in Cohoes, NY. She invited me to the studio to learn how to make a mono print, after I expressed interest in her works at her show at the Unitarian Society. My background is in painting, with some etching experience, thus I was drawn to the mark making possibilities of a mono print. I found the process very accessible and Kathy to be a great guide. First, I used a brayer to lay down blocks of color (red/pink skin tones) on the plexi glass, then I dipped my paint brush in black ink and drew a face. I brushed on green around the face and added dabs of yellow. I was ready to print. We put the plexi plate on the press bed and, on Kathy’s direction, put it through on medium-light pressure, to avoid ink splotching everywhere (some of my brushstrokes were fairly thick). Peeling the the paper off the plate after printing is always an exhilarating: This is the moment of anticipation! Will the print be good? It was. Thank you Ragged Edge Studio for teaching me to make a mono print; it was a most informative and satisfying experience.
