2007 Monotype Marathon

Workshops:
May 19 & 20

Exhibition:
June 8 - June 23

Closing Reception
& Auction
June 23

Corporate Sponsor:



Business Sponsor
Bontrager Framing

For thirteen years, artists throughout the Bay Area have been gathering at ICA-facilitated workshops during one weekend in spring in a "marathon" of printmaking. Working in groups of five or six, and led by a professional printer, artists whose primary media is often painting, sculpture, ceramics, or digital media, come together to practice the art of the monotype.

What is a monotype?
The monotype, often referred to as the "painterly print," is a one-of-a-kind print created by manipulating ink on a Plexiglas or metal plate, and then transferring the image to paper via an etching press. The resulting prints are characterized by an overall sense of spontaneity and expressiveness. Using brushes, brayers, fingers, rags, Q-tips, and other assorted tools, this immediacy of process is translated to the finished print. Whether the artist chooses to work in the subtractive method of inking the plate and wiping the ink away to create an image, or the additive approach of painting the image directly onto the plate, the pleasure of making monotypes comes when the completed plate is run through the press, transferring the ink onto paper.

Accomplished monotype artists throughout the Bay Area lead the workshops and make their studios and presses available to the participating artists. Private printmakers hosting workshops this year are Kyoko Fischer in San Jose and Evelyn Klein in Carmel. Six educational institutions also open their print studios to the Monotype Marathon - Cabrillo College in Aptos, Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, and San Jose State University.

This year's exhibition will culminate in a silent auction on Saturday, June 23.
The prints will be auctioned to the more than 100 Monotype Marathon individual sponsors, who made the artists' participation possible through their donations. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the ICA's exhibition and education programs. Only the sponsors who underwrite the artists' participation in this year's Monotype Marathon are able to participate in the auction; however the public is welcome to attend the reception, starting at 5:30pm.

The event is a collaborative process:
The Monotype Marathon is made possible by support from throughout the community. This year, the ICA would like to acknowledge the corporate support of Heritage Bank of Commerce. The ICA also receives support from business sponsor, Bontrager Framing.

Supplies for the Monotype Marathon were donated by University Art Center and E & F Plastics. Inks were donated by Graphic Chemical and Ink, Villa Park, IL. Graphic Design was donated by Joshua Swanbeck and printing donated by NextPress in Campbell.

Workshop leaders donate their time and expertise and the workshops are staffed by volunteers from the participating educational institutions and the art community. According to Executive Director, Cathy Kimball, "It's a win/win proposition - the artists love the creative collaboration of the workshops, the sponsors get an original work of art for $250, and the ICA raises more than $35,000 for its programs."

Photograph by Joshua Swanbeck