Experimental Monoprinting Techniques

Discover the versatility of monoprinting as a contemporary printmaking practice while developing an individual visual language. Over this 5-day intensive, students will explore a range of creative approaches to monoprinting through experimentation with drawing, painting, and printing using found objects and materials.

Students will learn to use an etching press to produce high-quality prints, as well as professional hand-printing techniques with a baren. Emphasis will be placed on exploration, layering, texture, and materiality, encouraging students to expand the expressive potential of the medium through process-led experimentation. Students will also experiment with mark-making using everyday and found objects, and integrate drawing and painting techniques into their printmaking practice.

Working on both small- and large-scale projects, students will have the opportunity to print onto a variety of surfaces, including professional rag papers, handmade rice and mulberry papers, fabrics, and found materials. Each day, Janet will introduce a new technique that builds on previous learning, allowing participants to develop their skills while creating a portfolio of accomplished and highly individual artworks.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Develop an understanding of the principles and processes of monoprinting.
• Gain confidence using an etching press and professional hand-printing techniques with a baren.
• Build skills in incorporating drawing and painting techniques into the monoprinting process.
• Develop the ability to print on a range of traditional and alternative surfaces.
• Create a resolved body of experimental prints that reflects an individual visual language and creative exploration.

Course Schedule
The following is an indicative course schedule only. The content and pace of the sessions may vary in response to the students in the program.

Day 1 – Orientation: Introduction in the NAS studio, including materials overview. Lecturer demonstration. Learning about the presses. Drawing exercise. Painterly monoprint techniques.

Day 2 – Frottage exercise in the courtyard. Experimentation with materials that can be used for monoprint. Hand printing processes. Group critique.

Days 3 & 4 – Additive and subtractive techniques with monoprinting. Experimentation with combined techniques.

Day 5 – Development of a resolved printing drawing from the week’s processes. Concluding with group critique and discussion of works in progress and finished pieces.

* Short courses and weekend workshops are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students between 15 - 17 years of age.

* What to bring? Please refer to the list of required materials in the Art Materials field below.

Students must supply their own art materials, please refer to the list below.

• Pencils, scissors, stanley knife, roll of masking tape
• 6 x sheets of cartridge paper – 50 x 70cm
• 4 x sheets of printmaking rag paper (56 x 76cm) e.g BFK Rives, Stonehenge, Canson Proofing Paper, Hahnemuhle – 280gsm
• 4 x sheets of rice paper – Awagami, Kozo or other paper of choice
• Notebook or sketchbook
• Apron and gloves and enclosed shoes are required for the studio
• Photos and images of own choice
• Other materials – fabric, other papers for printing onto
• Enclosed footwear is essential in all studios on campus.

Janet Parker-Smith is a Sydney-based artist whose practice spans print media, small-scale sculpture, collage, and altered books. Over the past 25 years, she has exhibited widely across Australia and internationally, presenting several solo exhibitions and being selected as a finalist in numerous art awards. Her work is held in major collections, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria, as well as many other public and private collections.

Alongside her studio practice, Janet teaches printmaking at the National Art School and Sydney College of the Arts and works with local councils on large-scale art projects and public programs. She has been represented by Van Rensberg Galleries in Hong Kong, as well as May Space and M. Contemporary in Sydney.