A mono-printing experience by Sue Tyson

March 2012: Art Dubai will soon be upon us and for most artisans, while we may stick to a particular art or craft form, we will sometimes experiment out of the box. By that I mean, try our hand at different techniques that we are not familiar with. It can be a bit scary because the ‘critical voice’ inside us derides our creativity back into the comfort zone.

I have, with us,  Sue Tyson, who tried the mono-printing workshop organised by the Majlis Gallery at Bastakiya Dubai.  Sue is a luxury bespoke designer-maker specialising in Murano glass. She has graciously shared with the Cultural Arts Travelogue, her first hand experience, as well as photos of her work. Thank you!

A lost manuscript from long ago? Photo and painting © Sue Tyson

“I was invited by the Majlis Gallery to try the mono-printing workshop as it is indeed something different for me. I suppose the the Majlis are always interested in seeing their designers evolve and try different directions. I absolutely loved doing the one day workshop. I found it fun, so relaxing and yet really satisfying. It felt very free-ing, in a funny way, as was nothing to do with jewellery at all of course and was a completely new unexplored area for me. I was reminded of the wonderful butterfly images we used to do at school with folder paper. Glass panel, oil colours, paper, lots of mess!”

Photo and painting © Sue Tyson

“I have to confess. Whilst living in Hong Kong, I did a few evening classes with a Scottish teacher who encouraged us to try different art forms; so I did mosaic (on a large mirror) and lino-print cut prints. A very interesting experience (I have 3 prints in my kitchen with different colours and graduating etches in each one.

Pisces Triplet. Photo and painting © Sue Tyson

“I loved trying out the oils in this workshop as I have never used oils before – only watercolours or acrylics.  The oils can dry quickly especially in Dubai weather so I had to work steadily;  first choosing the colours, then applying on the palette, onto the roller then onto the glass panel.   The basic technique goes like this: you place paper/print sheet over the glass and then design, draw, rub, mark on top of paper to produce your image.   We were encouraged to do two to three images on fresh paper sheets using same glass panel & colours although we could obviously add more colour/different shades after your first print.

Black & White, the first experiment, oil on glass, paper. Photo and painting © Sue Tyson

“While I would like to consider this medium for the future, obviously there’s more to it than just splodging  paint onto glass before pressing down on it to create a masterpiece!  Something my husband thought was quite easy!!”

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The Mono-printing workshop was  hosted and led by the renowned S.A. artist Lynette ten Krooden. The Majlis Gallery was also running the water colour workshpo by Susan Thomson, focussing on images of animals.  A pity that I missed yet another Susan Thomson workshop.

And here questions of type such if honestly strike me not much as I wrote everything higher. It is visible you simply you don’t want to read all this. As my parrot does.