Marsha Souders

I am a retired teacher and artist working in the medium of clay monoprinting. By using colored clay slips and a variety of application techniques, thin layers of clay slip are applied to newsprint paper then rolled onto a thin clay slab. After building up an image on this clay slab, a print is lifted.  Two prints at most can be produced, with the second print always being slightly different, thus the term monoprint (one print) because no two will ever be the same.

Many times these prints can be enhanced through the use of colored pencils, fine markers, and various collage techniques.  This adds another creative aspect to the process.

The idea for my prints was initially influenced by primitive cave paintings and the use of the symbolic handprint as man’s first signature.  I have always been fascinated with primative cultures, their relationship with the natural world, and  their mythologies and ways of  communicating such in their art.  Having previously worked in clay and printmaking, the melding of these two mediums fascinated me and is what originally prompted me to take a workshop in 2005 given by Mitch Lyons, the originator of this printmaking process.

My love of color infuses the compositions I create, a nod to the contemporary world and the manufactured tints which color my porcelain slips.  More importantly, the clay monoprinting process encourages the serendipity quality of “playful creation” each time a print is begun and ensures a new exploration of the theme.  This joy in creation (through references to primitive man and nature) is what I hope is apparent in my work.

My one-of-a-kind prints were  featured in the Gallery Space section of the February/2011 issue of Harrisburg magazine.