miriamgilman@verizon.net 
http://www.gilmangallery.com         
artist's bio

Brobdingnagian Koi - monotype	8 Pond Friends - monotype
Reflections - monotype	Night Bloomers - monotype
Through the Rushes - monotype	Lilies and Koi - monotype

About the Artist: My inspiration for the water lily monotypes came from a trip to Paris where I visited Musee Marmottan and L’Orangerie. There I saw large murals by Claude Monet surrounding the oval walls of a basement room. I sat on the floor, mesmerized by the beautiful tones of lavender, emerald green and cobalt blue in the pond waters. I soaked up the peacefulness of the ponds covered with water lilies, not wanting to leave. When I returned I embarked on my water lily series. Some are based on photos from ponds near and far—Wellesley College; the Botanical Gardens in Montreal; Morikami Museum in Boca Raton, Florida; Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia and a small pond at a tourist stop on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Other images are from my imagination. I have learned about pond maintenance—snails and tadpoles clean the scum that can make ponds cloudy—and the differences in the markings of Japanese koi, varieties of carp. My monotypes communicate a feeling of peace to the viewer as well as the beauty in the graceful movements of Koi.

Monoprinting is an experience of discovery. The technique involves painting on a glass, metal or plastic plate, placing dampened paper over it and applying pressure by hand or with a press. The pressure transfers the paint to the paper to create an edition of one, a unique print. The advantage of the method is that every print will look different and paint can be applied with great freedom. The disadvantage is that it is time consuming for the artist to print each individual image. I sometimes overlay the monotype with watercolor, pastel and/or collage to obtain the final image.