Monotype Printing – A Passion for Ink on Paper

13 Wednesday Feb 2019

Posted by glenrogers in Art Vacations, Monotype Print Workshops

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Art Vacations, art workshops in Mexico, monoprint workshops in Mexico, monotype printing, printmaking, San Miguel de Allende

Monotype printing (or monoprint) is characterized by playfulness, spontaneity, and a sense of discovery that draws you into the creative process. It’s been a go-to method for the likes of Matisse, Picasso, Klee & Diebenkorn – each pursuing techniques that would suit his own style. No matter who the artist, there is that ‘Ta-Dah’ moment – the magic that happens when you run your plate and paper through the press and reveal the fresh print.

Monotype is a printmaking process used to create one-of-a-kind images with ink on paper. Often referred to as the “painterly print,” a monotype is a painted plate versus an etching or lithograph whose image is chemically etched or scratched into the surface. There is a simplicity that attracts the artist, yet the final piece can be quite complex. It is an accessible medium for beginners but challenging and rewarding for a professional artist.

Monotype Print Workshop in Lima, Peru

In my workshops, I introduce a variety of techniques – additive, subtractive, collage, photo transfer, stencil, etc. – then allow everyone to experiment and follow their creative path. The artist applies ink to an acrylic plate with brushes, brayers, and textural elements, then the adding and subtracting of the ink begins. Once your image is ready to print, damp paper is placed over the plate and both are run thru the etching press, transferring image to paper. This is not a class where everyone’s work looks the same, and I am always pleasantly surprised by the amazing variety of works produced.

Monotype Printing in my San Miguel de Allende studio

You can create a finished print with one run thru the press – or you can add multiple layers of ink, building up additional color and information. Although I encourage students to come with an idea to start, the best result comes with the willingness to allow the image to evolve. The work can range from abstract to figurative, and from very colorful to a rich black and white. For artists, like painters or sculptors, whose work is time intensive, creating monotypes offers instant gratification and some beautiful work to add to their portfolio.

Artists working in my Mazatlan, MX studio

I have always loved the printmaking studio – a communal space where artists create and share. And ever since my first introduction in college, I have had a passion for ink and paper. After I moved from California to Mexico, I began teaching workshops in my Mazatlán studio, then offered Art Vacation/Print Workshops in Oaxaca, Guanajuato, and Lima, Peru. I now teach workshops out of my studio in San Miguel de Allende and offer Monday night print sessions to those with previous experience as a way to continue using the press.

Glen at the press

For more information on workshops and to see my monotype prints: www.glenrogersart.com

The Circle – Symbol of Wholeness

20 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by glenrogers in ancient sites in Europe, ancient symbols, archetypal symbols, Uncategorized

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Glen Rogers artist, inspiration, monotype printing, printmaking, the circle as archetypal symbol

Glen Rogers, ‘Ancient Circle’, 12″ x 9″, Monotype Print w xerox transfer,

Looking up at the sky, one can see two great circles, the sun and the moon. Here I find inspiration to create art using the most universal of shapes. The Circle is an archetypal symbol of wholeness and unity. Its roundness implies the feminine as the straight line does the masculine. This geometric shape, formed by a curving, never-ending line, creates a closed space which speaks of protection and inclusiveness. It is the simplest form, yet the strongest because it has no corners, no weak points. Circles pull me towards them with their promise of protection, like the warm embrace of a mother.

In the studio I am open to an intuitive approach to creating art – going with the flow and being open to the possibilities. Often, a circle appears as I apply the ink to a plate and begin a new monotype print. Inspired by the circles of old, I use them as a point of departure to weave my own tale. (Here I’ve used a xerox transfer process to integrate the old stone circles from El Mesquita, in Cordoba, Spain).

Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux Holy Man, said it best:

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round… The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours…Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.”

“A Room of One’s Own”

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by glenrogers in Artist studios, Uncategorized

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A room of her own, Artist studios, Creativity, inspiration, Mazatlan, painting, printmaking, San Miguel de Allende, Virginia Woolf

The famous line by Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”, has always struck a chord with me. The quote comes from a series of essays she wrote in 1928 about carving out a space for oneself – both literal and figurative. It was later adopted as a feminist statement in the 60’s and 70’s. I translated this ‘room’ as a creative space, a refuge – a studio for the artist. As a young woman coming of age in the 70’s, it was important for me to have just that.

I claimed my first studio while still an undergraduate student at University of Florida. This was a shared space with some photographers, a rather bohemian situation. And even though money was hard to come by, living in student poverty as I was, somehow I found a way. I needed this creative space away from academia, boyfriends, and other distractions. I was in the process of defining myself as an artist and making that declaration to the world. To have a studio, ‘a room of one’s own’, was a commitment.

When I moved to California in 1979, I got a job right away as a graphic artist fulfilling my financial obligations. But needing to feed my artist side as well, I answered an ad in Artweek magazine for a studio partner in a printmaking studio in San Jose. Betty and I had a successful partnership sharing a studio for almost 20 years. We moved studio and presses twice – from a converted 2 car garage in Campbell to the Citadel, an old cannery warehouse on 10^th and Taylor, and later to the “new” Citadel on 5^th and Martha. Having a studio helped define me as a serious artist in the community.

I later moved to Oakland and developed a studio there as well – but not for long, as my heart was pulled in another direction – Mexico. In 1999, I bought a small house in Mazatlán’s Centro Historico (for $27,000usd!) and soon after, built a studio on the 2^nd floor. This was going to be my ‘studio abroad’ – my dream, my pie in the sky. I had envisioned South of France or Italy, but after one visit to Mazatlán, I was hooked. This beautiful city on the Sea of Cortez had just what I was looking for and was to be my haven away from the maddening crowds (and traffic!) of the San Francisco Bay Area. It didn’t take long, less than 2 years, to move there full time and create my dream life.

Fast forward to 2018. I am in San Miguel de Allende and just built a 3^rd floor studio with plenty of natural light, space for painting, printmaking and workshops. Here, I am in a city known for its arts community and gallery scene – and an opportunity to introduce my work to a new market. Call it the 17year itch – I was definitely ready for a change.

I have always considered an artist’s studio as sacred space – a place to grow, create, and thrive as an artist.

Glen at the Citadel in San Jose, CA, 1980’s

My 2nd studio in Mazatlan, 2007(?)

My new studio in San Miguel de Allende

Image

Fragments from the Ancient World

09 Thursday Feb 2017

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Ancient sites in Mexico, archetypes, inspiration, printmaking, solarplate prints, spiritual journey

As an artist, I draw from the ancient world, collecting symbols carved into stone. I’m intrigued by the simplicity of form and the repetition of shapes such as the circle and spiral in sites around the world. By visiting sacred sites, I feel a connection with those who came before me and feel the spirit of place.

Here are some mixed media prints that I created recently using images from Uxmal, Monte Alban, and Las Labradas (Mexico). My photographs of these fragments were used to create solarplates, a non-toxic form of photo-printmaking. I then hand-wiped and printed the images on rice paper, running the plate through an etching press. The images were then used in the chine colle process – pasting down the thinner paper to a heavier print paper as I printed a monotype image at the same time. (Kind of like a collage).The monotype provides the textures and subtle tones that pull the image together.

These three prints, Ancient Fragment I, II, III, are featured in an exhibition at Baupres Gallery, Mazatlan, Mexico through the end of February.

Ancient Fragment III

Ancient Fragment II

Ancient Fragment I

Fragment from Uxmal

Posted by glenrogers | Filed under ancient symbols, archetypal symbols, Art, monotype, Sacred Sites in Mexico, Uncategorized

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Ancient Openings/Aperturas Ancestrales

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by glenrogers in ancient symbols, Art, Uncategorized

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archetypes, Bienal de Grabado, Creativity, Glen Rogers, ICPNA, inspiration, Lima, Peru, printmaking, spiritual journey, travel

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I went to Lima, Peru in October, where I had a solo exhibition thru November 27 as part of the Bienal Internacional de Grabado (International Biennal of Printmaking) sponsored by ICPNA ( Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano). There were over 40 exhibitions as part of the Biennal over a 2 month period and represented artists from Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Spain, the U.S., Finland, France, Italy, Mexico and Peru.

In this exhibition at Galeria ICPNA San Miguel, I had the opportunity to exhibit early large-scale prints along with recent works. I created most of these prints at KALA Institute in Berkeley, California in the early 1990’s, they represent the beginning of my exploration into symbolism as my primary artistic expression. My work continues along this line, and it was gratifying to see how seamlessly the work flowed.

All of the monotype prints draw from a universal visual language of primal forms created by early cultures and inspired by nature. The circle speaks of unity, oneness, wholeness, the sun and the moon; the spiral reflects renewal, regeneration, evolution and growth; the oval or ‘vesical piscis’ is a symbol from sacred geometry that implies the womb, the seed, birth, and the beginning of life. My intent over the last 20 years has been to create work that reflects the essence of these forms that can touch us on an intuitive level.

I visit sacred sites shrouded in mystery and imbued with the spirit of the ancients for inspiration. With each pilgrimage, I am drawn to the artifacts left behind by these early societies – sculptural details carved in stone, glyphs painted on cave walls, and designs found on pottery shards. In each location, repetition is found in the form of archetypal symbols such as the circle and the spiral – universal symbols that according to Carl Jung evoke a deep and unconscious response. Early on, I was drawn to Paleolithic and Neolithic sites where images of Mother Earth, the Divine Feminine, were revered. (Among them: Newgrange in Ireland, The Temple of Knossos in Crete, and the caves in the south of France.) My more recent visits to Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines, and Sillustani in Peru also reveal a deep reverence for nature, Spirit and the cycles of life. For me, each site represents a mystical opening, a passage to something greater than ourselves, beyond the human experience.

In the studio, bold symbols emerge from the inked plate in a somewhat stream-of-conscious manner, my head and heart filled with new material. The monotype allows me a spontaneous approach and results in a one-of-a kind image. Scratching the plate with a drypoint tool, I create a textural surface suggesting primeval walls worn down by time. A mystical and meditative quality references the ritual of sacred space while the curvilinear forms refer to the Divine Feminine. Symbols create openings that can connect us to the past and to the spiritual realm. As I work the surface of the plate and access these ancient forms and markings, I feel an affinity with those who have come before me.

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The Ouroboros and the Eternal Return

08 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by glenrogers in ancient symbols, archetypal symbols, Art, inspiration

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ancient symbols, archetypal symbols, contemporary painting, creative spirit, inspiration, monotype prints, Oaxaca Art Vacation, Ouroboros, printmaking

Ouroboros, monotype print, 30″ x 22″

In my Mazatlan studio, the Ouroboros rears her head and almost bites her tail.

The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting the snake or serpent eating its own tail. There are many interpretations but in general it signifies Eternity or the never ending cycle – something constantly re-creating itself. Carl Jung named it the archetype of the human psyche. It is considered a symbol for introspection. In Alchemy, it is infinity or wholeness.

The Ouroboros has appeared in many cultures with the earliest siting in Egypt dating back to 1600BC. The Phonecians used it – then the Greeks who named the symbol, Ouroboros, which means devouring its tail. In Aztec mythology, Queztacoatl, was similarly depicted. More on the Ouroboros: http://www.tokenrock.com/explain-ouroboros-70.html

The Ouroboros is closely connected to the circle and the spiral, two universal symbols that also point to wholeness and regeneration. These two symbols have been mainstays in my work over the years – but I had never used the Ouroboros until recently.

hector-hernandez-drawing

What changed? After taking my group down to Oaxaca for the Oaxaca Art Vacation in July, I stayed for another week to soak in the city and the culture. I saw several works of art utilizing the Ouroboros symbol. I bought a watercolor by Hector Hernandez – a very simple cobalt blue rendition painted over some sheet music. I had recently done a series using sheet music as chine colle in my monoprints – so that caught my attention. I had admired this artist’s work over the years.

On a tour of printmaking workshops in Oaxaca, the Ouroboros pops up again in this gorgeous large-scale woodcut entwined with figures.

As an artist, I draw my inspiration from ancient art to contemporary works. Whose to say what and where will get the juices flowing….We all have our on voice, our own style and way of working with the imagery at hand.

Friday Art Post

04 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by glenrogers in Uncategorized

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archetypal symbols, Glen Rogers, monotype prints, printmaking, The source, vesica piscis

One of my favorite monotype prints from the last couple of years, “The Source II”. The image feels grounded yet ethereal – feminine but with the addition of the gold leaf, it enters a spiritual realm. The oval shape suggests the womb, the beginning of life, renewal and regeneration. A one-of-a-kind print created in my Mazatlán studio. I did two in the series (similar but different), the other one sold, this one is still available. Contact me for more information or visit my website: glenrogersart.com

Glen Rogers, "The Source", 30" x 22", monotype w. gold leaf

Glen Rogers, “The Source II”, 30″ x 22″, monotype w. gold leaf

Aboriginal Rock Art and Sacred Inspiration

03 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by glenrogers in Uncategorized

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Aboriginal elder, Australia, Birthing cave, Cave paintings in Australia, Cooktown, drypoint, drypoint printing, Glen Rogers, inspiration, monoprints, mother earth, Nugal-Wara, petroglyphs, printmaking, rainbow serpent, rock art, sacred land, Willie Gordon, writing on the Wall

The Rainbow Serpent

On my first trip to Australia, I visited Cooktown north of Cairns on the Cape York Peninsula. I specifically sought out rock art since I knew the indigenous culture dated back thousand of years. I had scoped out an area about 25 miles out that was protected by park lands, but then noticed a message on a bulletin board advertising a walk thru the bush with an aboriginal guide. I jumped at the opportunity to visit the ancestral lands of the Nugal-wara normally closed to the public. There were 5 or 6 of us who signed up to walk into the bush with Willie Gordon, an Aboriginal guide and tribal elder. He led us through a landscape of towering sandstone rock formations that we experienced from above, and then into the gorges.

Wille Gordon, Aboriginal guide and tribal elder

The rock art was in small overhangs that formed a series of caves. We saw the “cave of reconciliation”, where clan would meet to resolve issues with outcasts from the tribe. Then we entered the birthing cave, with drawings of a pregnant woman, a child, and an upside-down image of a man (because men weren’t allowed inside the cave.)

The Birthing Cave

In another cave, images of a rainbow serpent, their image of Mother Earth, were drawn on the wall with pigments from the earth. When we stopped, Willie would draw images in the sand, sharing tribal myths and symbols, but what most touched me was his sharing from the heart. He explained, ‘It is our spirituality that determines our survival.” He spoke of the ‘light’, the Aboriginal basis for their connection to Spirit, and explained how the rainbow serpent is their connection to Earth, the practical. Water and light are their two most important spiritual elements, and he described how the cave paintings represent a pathway through life. Even today, the tradition of painting on the walls continues, as each generation adds their own marks leaving a legacy for the next. This was such a blessed opportunity to spend time with Willie Gordon as he shared with us his ancestral history and spiritual connections.

Back in the studio, I was moved to capture the essence of these cave paintings, so I began a suite of small monoprints called “Writing on the Wall.” Layering the images from my mind’s eye and from photos I’d taken, my intention was to create a rich surface that sparkled with the mystery I’d felt on this sacred land. I interwove images of the Rainbow Serpent with nature imagery such as spirals and textures carved into the caves. Scratching into the plate using the drypoint process, I created a rich surface before applying the ink to the plate. Subtle layers of transparent color were rolled on or added by hand (a la poupee) after the initial dark umber matrix. Each print is unique, a one of a kind image. Some of the prints are still available, contact me to view more images.