Rocky Slope and Blue Sky (Chine Colle)

Rocky Slope and Blue Sky (Chine Colle) Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is the fourth and last of the images that I made Tuesday night in printmaking class at Red Brick. We learned to do Chine colle monotypes this week. The process combines collage and printmaking. I used two plates with all the images, one to attach pasted paper to the print, and the second plate to apply the ink. Another member of the class brought in some great paper to share, and I used two different textures for this print. My imagery comes from my memories of the Colorado mountains. Well, there is certainly an element of surprise in this process. You can't completely control what happens in the printing press. In this piece, the brown mountain shape moved in the press, and slid down a little bit (which is why I thought about calling this piece "Slippery Slope".) Then, when I put the second plate (the inked plate) into the press, I didn't line it up exactly where the first plate was, so I got a double imprint. That created some extra horizontal lines which I like, so I didn't mind that at all. Even though it didn't turn out exactly as planned, I like this image. Art reminds us to be open to the unplanned and random workings of the accidental.