Term of the Day: Gelatin Monotype

Last weekend I bought a gelatin monotype from Maryland-based printmaker Amanda Gordon Miller. As I understand it, her newest baby is due in any day now so I was extremely surprised and delighted to find the print along with a handwritten note in my mailbox only 48 hours after making the purchase.

I guess "monotype" is self-explanatory -- it means one of a kind. Jello is essentially her printing surface. Instead, for example, of using a carved block of wood or a piece of cut linoleum to make a print, Amanda uses unflavored edible gelatin to create a firm "plate."

In an article she wrote a few years ago, Amanda explains that she became interested in the technique while exploring low-tech, non-toxic methods that could be achieved in a small apartment without a printing press. Basically she designs and cuts her stencils, rolls professional-quality, water-based inks—Akua Kolor, which contain honey, and Akua Intaglio, which contain soybean oil—onto her gelatin plate, arranges the stencils, and then prints. She likes the painterly results that gelatin yields, and how conducive it is to building up layers. If you're curious to do some experimenting of your own, her article contains very clear, helpful steps to follow.

Amanda Gordon Miller earned both her BA in Painting and her MA in Museum Studies from Syracuse University. All images above via the artist.