While most painters at this point in time purchase their paints, clay monoprint artists must make their own clay slips, with as many varieties needed as the colors they choose to use in their works.

An immersion or “stick” blender is a worthwhile tool for creating the clay monoprint slips.

#6 tile Kaolin (or China) clay is mixed with water to make the clay slips, roughly to a consistency a little thicker than household paint. (The use of a marshmallow fluff container is optional!)

The artist then mixes in a pigment for each color they wish to use. In the Visual Realia studio, liquid universal pigments are my most common choice, but other materials such as iron oxides are another choice. The amount of pigment added will influence the boldness of the slip.

Want to learn more about clay monoprints? Check out these links:

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2017/10/15/art-of-the-clay-monoprint

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2019/12/21/evolution-of-a-clay-monoprint-matrix

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2021/3/7/from-one-monoprint-to-the-next

And a video here:

https://www.visualrealia.com/articles/2020/5/8/clay-monoprint-technique-demo-video

Interested in learning in person? Contact me for some options.

Universal pigments are a great choice for clay monoprint artists, and come in a wide range of colors.