Clay Monoprint Workshop with Mitch Lyons

What a wonderful weekend I had making art at the serene Peters Valley Art Education Center, Layton, NJ! Located in the NW corner of the state, Peters Valley is a forgotten, wild & natural spot near the Delaware Water Gap. It's distance from interstates, jobs & family demands makes it a perfect place to dive in and make art.

I didn't choose the place, tho, I chose the instructor, Mitch Lyons. This past year I have been making clay monoprints and felt that I needed a refresher course, a booster shot, a chance to watch Mitch make art and think about how to improve my work.




It was like going to summer camp! New friends to make, all supportive and encouraging one another and our printmaking.

I stayed 1 1/4 hours south with friends and so drove each misty moisty morning through beautiful old farm land, past old stone houses, and numerous still lakes. Quiet, no Jersey highways, just me and the mornings.




Here is Mitch Lyons talking to us about the process that he discovered 30 years ago while trying to decorate the ceramic pots he was making. Over the years he has refined this printing method which begins with a slab of clay. Clay slip is then tinted with either inorganic (ceramic glazes) or organic pigments (paint) and applied to the slab. Use is made of pressing textures into the slab and adding layers & layers of color. Then a piece of reemay or pellon is laid on the colored slab and a print is pulled. A very thin layer of clay actually sticks to the reemay creating a permanent, archival print.