As noted elsewhere, one of the clay monoprint process's unique traditions is that after a print is pulled, the next print design doesn’t start anew but is rather placed on top of previous prints. As such, many print elements carry over to the next, or even for several generations of prints. In some cases, a shape or block of color will reappear several prints down the line.
In the image of Machination I and II above, you’ll see both obvious changes and more subtle shifts. After the print on the left was made, additional elements were added, and previous elements changed as some colored clay was moved to the print. We’ll take a closer look at those changes.
After pulling the print on the left, several areas of new elements were added to the matrix, the clay slab that the artist designs prints on: a diagonal rectangle broken into three segments, a set of three expanding circles, a diagonal blue line and circle, and a blue horizontal line.
After adding those elements, the print on the right, Machinations II, was pulled.
Those are obvious changes, but if one looks closely, they’ll also see more subtle shifts.
When a print is pulled, some of the colored clay transfers from the matrix (clay slab) to the artwork. The amount of clay that transfers, however, is not entirely controlled by the artist.
In many cases, some of the clay from the newest elements transfers, but some clay remains. Those elements, or at least a portion of them, are then available to transfer onto future prints. In the examples above, you’ll see areas of the leftmost print that remained and reappeared in the second print on the right.
There are also times when not only the newest clay transfers but also some of the clay underneath. This results in areas where design elements from several prints back reappear. A clay matrix is a diary of an artist’s past works, and they will randomly share these print memories into new works.
In area 1 above, you’ll find a grid of squares in Machinations I. Almost all of the clay form that grid transferred to the print, so Machination II shows only a faint memory of that design element.
An older print had a blue arc near the left side, which was later covered with off-white clay. On the left print, you only faintly see the component. That white clay transferred to Machination I, so the underlying blue arc reemerges in Machinations II in area 2.
Likewise, area 3. An older black shape is largely hidden in the first print but is allowed to “speak” more clearly in the second print.
As you can see, the result of any clay monoprint is a combination of the artist’s design and the random revealing of previous print components. An artist’s past works are never wholly lost, and new prints will inevitably influence future works.