They say that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” but under the pressure of necessity all kinds of things can happen. Our small grandson will be coming to stay with us next week. This will be the first occasion on which he will have been here without his parents. We have been trying to make sure that there is a suitable range of activities for a five-year-old. Not long ago, at my regular life-drawing class, I was introduced to mono-prints, and rather enjoyed the experience. It occurred to me that such a simple technique might be accessible for a small child, under supervision.
Today I managed to find the time to experiment with the technique. Because it seemed such an interesting medium, with all kinds of possibilities, I had bought some ink and rollers in any case. So having reached a standstill with the picture on which I’m working I set to and made a few trial prints, primarily to make sure that the process is simple enough to take on with my grandson, but also to satisfy myself that it is possible to make an interesting variety of marks and tones.
I rate the experiment a success. I produced three very simple prints on a variety of topics (including a rather sketchy portrait of my wife) and also made sure that I have the means of ensuring that it will be possible to work without creating too much of a horrendous mess. I’m really looking forward to the exercise, and quite excited about the possibility of developing my familiarity with the (for me) novel technique.