Culture On The Line Website Follows Regional Creatives

A new member of the Visual Realia family is online, Culture On The Line, a curated look at the culture of south central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. I hope you bookmark it and follow its corresponding Facebook page.

York & Hanover's "Invisible Wall"

I had the good fortunate to talk (and exchange emails) with Jim McClure about the “invisible wall” between York and Hanover, both in the art world and in general. Mr. McClure does a great job sharing some of the historical separations. Communities (and artists) in that straight line between York-Hanover-Gettysburg would benefit from greater efforts to work together.

Read the article at this link.

Jingle Ball 2021

Adams County Arts Council's Jingle Ball
Saturday, December 4th, 6-11 PM
The Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors’ Center

I’ll have only one hour at the Adams County Arts Council’s annual fundraising gala, the Jingle Ball, to design, paint, pull, seal, and frame a print that will go up for auction to benefit the non-profit. Should be challenging — and fun!

The bottom portion of the image above shows the clay matrix that I’ll be designing on prior to the gala. Some of these elements may impact the finished print.

Clay Monoprint Workshop — November 2021

Andrew Smith is offering a one-session clay monoprint workshop at the Adams County Arts Council in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, November 10th, from 1-4 PM. Participants will use printmaking techniques with colored clay slips to create vibrant monoprints. Basic techniques will be introduced, followed by an open studio format where artists can explore and create their own works. Everyone will leave with two completed prints.

Questions may be directed to Andy at ostman4200@comcast.net. Registration information is available at:

https://www.adamsarts.org/portfolio-item/printmaking-with-clay/

Clay Slip for the Clay Monoprint Artist

While most painters at this point in time purchase their paints, clay monoprint artists must make their own clay slips, with as many varieties needed as the colors they choose to use in their works.

An immersion or “stick” blender is a worthwhile tool for creating the clay monoprint slips.

#6 tile Kaolin (or China) clay is mixed with water to make the clay slips, roughly to a consistency a little thicker than household paint. (The use of a marshmallow fluff container is optional!)

The artist then mixes in a pigment for each color they wish to use. In the Visual Realia studio, liquid universal pigments are my most common choice, but other materials such as iron oxides are another choice. The amount of pigment added will influence the boldness of the slip.

Want to learn more about clay monoprints? Check out these links:

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2017/10/15/art-of-the-clay-monoprint

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2019/12/21/evolution-of-a-clay-monoprint-matrix

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2021/3/7/from-one-monoprint-to-the-next

And a video here:

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2020/5/8/clay-monoprint-technique-demo-video

Interested in learning in person? Contact me for some options.

Universal pigments are a great choice for clay monoprint artists, and come in a wide range of colors.

Anatomy of a Clay Monoprint

For those new to the medium, the artist creates a design using colored clay (slip) on a clay slab, known as the matrix. Material is then placed on some or all of the slab, and the print is transferred to the material.

After the print is made, some of the clay design remains on the matrix. An interesting aspect of the medium is that the next print is designed over top of the previous rather than starting over. This results in a bit of randomness as portions of previous designs appear along with the new design.

For the Machinations print, I used all of the slab/matrix for the print — the first time in a while, so elements of different, smaller prints are combined. In fact, most of the elements in this print are remnants of previous designs. I did, however, add the 3x4 set of blocks in the first noted area and the dark teal line in the center at area 3.

Area 1 - You'll see three rows of three squares, using red, yellow, and orange. Above this set is another row of three dark teak clay.

In the image, you'll see a black rectangle "above" the blocks. This shape was actually from a previous print, with the new small squares placed on top. When the new print was made (pulled), the clay from the squares transferred, but so did the black rectangle underneath, reversing the order on the pulled print. (There's that randomness!)

Area 2 - If you look closely, you'll see a line of a few black dots. Not only wasn't this in the new design, but it was from several prints ago and hasn't appeared in a print since November! Sometimes these "memories" from previous designs create happy accidents. (Your clay slab is a diary of your work.)

Area 3 - The dark teal line was added last, and I almost made the print without it. A last-minute look at the matrix led me to feel the object was necessary. Interestingly, Caetlyn mentioned in the previous look at this print that she thought this line was necessary. I'm glad I added it!

Area 4 - Persistence. I've been doing geometric art lately and wanted to minimize this unusual black shape, so I painted a layer of plain off-white clay over it. It did soften it a bit, but it still raised its voice!

The clay monoprint artist never has complete control; sometimes, the clay speaks for itself.

“Machinations” — Clay Monoprint on Pellon by Andrew Smith of Visual Realia