theBarnstorming: Busy Robbi

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June 17, 2007

Busy Robbi

We are running out of days. in addition to preparing for MoCCA and packing for Alaska, Robbi is also trying to finish a major freelance project (illustrated wedding invites) and some fine art (a series of clay monoprints) for a gallery show this summer. There is very little lounging in the barn these days.

Robbi spent the majority of her waking hours today on the other side of the barn in the little nook she has carved out for "messy" art that can't be done in our living space. Monoprint making, which involves a huge slab of wet clay, lots of wet slip (basically colored chalk in sludge form) and noxious chemicals. The process is interesting. The quick explanation is that she uses different colors of slip, various stencils, and some dry chalk that she shaves or grates into tiny pieces for the purpose of adding texture to the composition. Layer by layer, she builds a colorful tableau in clay of various colors and designs. When the clay surface is how she wants it, she takes some synthetic material that is best described as an enormous, thick dryer sheet and places it on top of the slab.

Unfortunately, I did not photograph the process of laying down the color, which is too bad, becauase it's something to see. Making monoprints is the apsect of art in which Robbi does not need to use her conscious, thinking mind. Instead, she uses color, texture, line, and form in a way that seems almost desultory. More often than not, the finished product comes together beautifully, however.

Anyway, once the material to be printed upon has been placed on the slab, Robbi uses a spoon to apply pressure, thus pressing the clay to the material and transferring the image, via layers of clay, to the material.

Apparently clay and this material have opposite electric charges, though I can't now remember which is positive and which is negative. Unlike other printing techniques in which the "plate" is unchanged by virtue of being used to make a print (transferring ink, for example), clay monoprinting creates the finished image by literally transferring layers of clay to the finished surface. The "Mono" comes from the fact that it is not possible to pull more than one print from a given composition. Once the top layers of clay have been pulled from the slab into the material, the slab is changed and Robbi must begin the process of image making anew.

Once she has thoroughly rubbed the entire printing area with the spoon, Robbi checks the image to gauge the success of the transfer.

If a given area has not transferred thoroughly or crisply, she will replace the material and keep rubbing with the spoon until she is satisfied with the finished product. Here is the other end of today's print.

And here is the finished product.

A few details:

Robbi's monoprints are almost impossible to capture in a photo, At least, I've never seen a photo that does them justice. The real beauty of the prints comes from the textural nuance, the tiny vibrations that create a sense of depth and abundance and the joint satisfaction of energy and intense stillness.

One down, two to go. She'll have three new prints in an upcoming group show at the Carla Massoni Gallery. More details will be forthcoming when they are known.

As for Robbi's other major project, she was commissioned to create a series of invitations to the wedding of a friend's son and related events. The invite for the rehearsal dinner is a highly intricate affair. I'm not even sure how to describe it except to say that it has moving parts like a pop up book. As the invitation is opened, an illustration of the bride and groom that appears on the front of the illustration flips 180 degrees and becomes part of another scene drawn on the back side. It's really something and, as you might imagine, is a nightmare on the production front. The degree of skill required leaves me unqualified to assist, and so I am reduced to photographiing the fun as Robbi:

Prints: