Day 290 of Year 2 (Actually Day 295)
I have completely abandoned cleaning my monotype plates! I love the depth the old (ghost) ink adds under the final image. Tonight I'm posting two prints. The first posted print (the one I am using as my daily print) is actually a ghost* of the second posted print. Printmaking (at least the way I practice it) is about giving up control. You never know exactly how ink will mate with paper. A ghost print is more of an adventure because even the way an artist lays ink down is altered. This method amplifies the ink's own special voice. Artist materials have voice and purpose if you listen. Even alone in the studio, an artist collaborates with the physical world through their materials. It is a constant back and forth, sometime a smooth collaboration, sometimes an epic battle. A good ghost print captures a precious moment of trust and harmony between an artist and the material world. *A ghost print is the a second print taken off of a monotype plate. Because it uses the leftover ink, the image is always different from the first print.