Re-Cover Project - Week 5

We are more than half way through the Re-cover Project and today we got a bit inky on the ward by introducing a new technique to the men: mono printing.

Across the 2 hour session 5 men came to join us, either choosing 3D plaster casting or mono printing.

For the men who have dropped into our session each week, they were keen to try a different process; working in 2D and developing their drawing and printing skills.

We began by drawing directly onto the polystyrene, some men using images from books by different artists as inspiration.  They scratched the shapes and lines onto the polystyrene and inked up their drawings and pressed them onto paper.

“Ta-dah!” we cheered as we revealed the print from underneath.

“Oo, I love it! Let’s try it again in black!” says one man proudly showing his work to a member of staff.

The session was filled with creative experiments; layering, playing with composition and layout, working onto different coloured backgrounds, mixing new ink colours. And then some men repeated the whole process again with a new understanding and eagerness.

There were many surprises during the session as accidental prints appeared. “This one would actually make a great table cloth,” says one man about this print.

Another man is excited to write reflections about his experience in our sessions. So we are looking forward to reading his words, because he is poet.

This week we have also begun chatting to ward staff and patients about how they would like their work displayed in the ward walls after the project. Discussions are still underway, and we shall keep you informed!

 Bryony and Van