Help! I'm Making Prints and I Can't Stop!

I got started making gelli prints with my mini plate (3"x5") this morning and couldn't find a place to stop! Experimented with acrylics, acrylic inks, alcohol inks, sumi ink, Dylusions inks, alone and/or mixed together or dropped in to. Most of them are on Speedball printmaker's paper, a few on colored cardstock (practicing tags), and one 2"x2" mini canvas (for ornament practice). I wound up with 49 prints and 1 mini canvas before I stopped.

Some I love and some I don't. Some will be printed over and some won't. But I learned from all of them, and I have so many ideas for their use! Yep! The mini plate is definitely my fave!

Quick Sketch, New Project, and More Gelli...

Starting off with a very quick sketch in the Feather Journal (altered book) with a Pitt brush pen for practice!

She could be much better, but at least I tried, so I got in some art practice...

The start of a new project, a 9" x 12" canvas covered in collage papers for the first layer. Waiting for it to dry so I can add the next layer...

Got my 3" x 5" Gelli plate yesterday and tried it out this morning. I'm in LOVE!!! I just wish the colors showed up as vibrant and varied as they really are. I think this is my favorite size, and I haven't even tried it as a stamp yet! I used open media acrylics on Speedball printmaking paper, with a string, a plastic fork, a ribbon, and my quirky little bird mask.

We had company come in, so I had to stop before I tried out one of the 2" x 2" canvases I bought on it. I have in mind Christmas ornaments made out of the mini canvases. I also got in a new supply of blank cards, so maybe I'll get an early start on Christmas cards this year. Fingers crossed!

We were all saddened this weekend by the sudden death of my cousin, Jerry, who lived in Texas. He was my dad's nephew, and my parents' house is where he, and his siblings, call home when they come to Tennessee. I didn't get to see him much, but over the last few years we kept in closer touch via Facebook. He was one of my biggest cheerleaders concerning my art efforts, he was a loving and beautiful soul, I loved him, and I will miss him, as will all of his family and friends. Another bright light has been dimmed in our family.

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1

Gelli Prints with Inks and a Very Quick Character Sketch

I've missed my creative play for the last few days, because I've been sleeping in. I'm going to have to stop that! It causes me to have withdrawals! :)

Anyway, I got up in time to play some before the day starts today. I wanted to try acrylic inks on the Gelli plate to see what the effects would be, and they are way different to paint. These are 5" x 7" on Speedball printmaking paper, and a few of them have irridescent inks mixed in. I don't know how well they'll show up on here, but they are beautiful in person.

Where the paint pretty much stays where you put it on the plate, the acrylic inks tend to  run and ball up, so you have to get the paper down quickly. In fact, I had to have it in my hand when I lifted the brayer up and get it laid down before the ink disappeared into little balls scattered all over the plate, although that could also make an interesting print. I love the blue one on the bottom; it looks like little flowers trailing up the page.

I tried alcohol inks on the print with the yellow in it in the top right corner. It reacts differently to the acrylic ink, in that it tends to spread and create halos. I didn't have to lay the paper as fast. The colorss are more vibrant, but they did stain the gelli a little. I love these effects though, and will use inks again, definitely.

I hadn't sketched any in a while, so before I got up from my desk, I did a very quick sketch, from my imagination, in the Feather Journal (altered book) with a gel pen. Just for practice, but I like her quirkiness!

This is what my work space has come down to. The only empty space in the room. This is the 5" x 7" plate, and there is just barely enough room to use the 8" x 10" plate. I'm not going to show the rest of the room, but looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and do some cleaning and actually organize and put stuff in to all those empty containers I have stacked up. Not looking forward to it, but I'll have to look at it like a treasure hunt, because I know I'll find stuff I forgot I had. :)

I'm also researching and doing the ground work for a mixed-media piece that I hope turns out awesome!

Anyway, that's what I'm up to today, and I can't believe I got a post done without getting interrupted! Thanks for visiting and have an awesomely creative day! :)

Still Gelli Printing...

Yep! Still playing with gelli prints! So far, I've made at least a couple of prints every morning of the new year. I'm getting quite a stack built up to play with, and my 3" x 5" is on the way to me. Yay!

This is yesterday's (Friday) batch, acrylics on Speedball printmaking paper, string, masks, stencil, hands, and fingers, all 5" x 7". My favorites are the handprints out of this batch.

The rest, made Saturday, are 8" x 10" acrylics on printmaking paper, silk flower, string, masks, stencil, fingers, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, torn papers, stamps, and a dead leaf. I really like the flower ones...

The top left one is my favorite from these four, and I like the blue one with the cats a lot...

The top right one, which I finger painted on to the plate, then used my finger to stencil my little bird in in hot pink is my favorite of these four. Love it!

I like the flower one a lot, and I like the lower left one. It's much better in person! I kind of used it to clean off my plate, because the paint was drying too fast, due to the heat in the house...

The red dress is more of a monotype, I guess. I finger painted it. I will have things added to it though eventually. The bottom one is on green card stock that was laying handy. Not crazy about it. The top right one is another clean up page, but, it too, looks better in person.

In fact, they all look better in person. I am not the best photographer, believe it, or not. The colors are more vibrant, and the camera, or the computer one, doesn't show all the nuances, you get the idea, I hope. :)

I have an idea to use part of these in the Japanese folding journal that I made. We'll see how that goes!

Once I started, I can't seem to stop! Well, I haven't made any today, because I slept in, and then we had company. But the day ain't over yet, she said! :)

Thursday's Gelli Play

What I played with this morning, adding a horse shape cut from card stock, and multiple layers!

The bottom picture is of my favorites from today.

I'm about to order the 3" x 5" gelli plate. I think it will be a lot of fun too, maybe even more so, because it can be used as a stamp.

You may be getting tired of seeing these prints, but, for now, it's all the creative stuff I'm getting done. I have been getting a bit of an itch to pick up my weaving again, and I've entered the new year with three workshops to finish, besides several works in progress. I'm also reading two books at the same time. I wish I loved finishing projects as much as I love starting them! :o I just want to learn and try everything. What can I say? Anyone else have this problem? :)

Tuesday/Wednesday Prints

My father-in-law and my mom had Dr. appointments out of town Tuesday and Wednesday, so I didn't have much time to play before we left. I did cut out some simple shapes from card stock to experiment with on rice paper and my 5"x7" gelli plate.

These two first layers are all I had time for Tuesday morning, as I spent part of my time cutting the shapes out. There will be more layers...

I had a little more time Wednesday morning before taking mom to the Dr., and I made these prints, some with multiple layers, some ghost prints. The white shapes will eventually be filled in with something...

This one is my favorite of this batch. I finger painted it on to the plate, then printed it.

Once I get started, it's very hard to stop, but I usually get interrupted and have to. It's very addictive!

Monday's Play

Paint on my fingers and my favorite music in my ears! What more could I ask for?

Playing with the 5x7 gelli print and rice paper again!

The green paper is an unruyu scrap that I had on hand. Three of these are ghost prints, which will probably have layers added over, or become collage fodder. My faves from this group are the red striped one and the leaf one, which will have some writing or something in the white shape eventually.

It's funny that I used to could never bear to tear up books or art that I didn't like, or destroy them in any way, but during a few of the classes I've taken over the last 2-3 years I've become a little more fearless in my creative adventures and can now tear up books and unwanted art for collages with no regrets whatsoever. Grateful for creative fearlessness and I hope I can stay that way! :)

Finally Getting the Hang of Gelli Plate Printing!

Two posts in one day! This morning's batch of gelli prints on colored card stock (the white looking is actually an egg shell color). I experimented with stencils, paper masks, torn papers, a jar lid with cut outs, paper cut outs, a peacock feather stamp, and a texture tool.

Until yesterday, I had been using printmaking paper and  mixed media paper from a journal to print on, but I had all this card stock and decided to try it. I think I prefer the white, egg shell, off white back grounds over the coral and green ones, and I LOVE using paynes grey on them, although the colors on here are not true and the paynes gray looks blue.

I think the card stock gives the prints a softer, slightly out of focus look. Maybe it's just the way I did it? Anyway, I think I'm finally getting braver and getting the hang of gelli printing with this batch. Can't wait to try something different with the next batch!

More Gelli Prints Practice and a Journal Reworking

More fun! This time I experimented with writing with a brush end, stencils, a dead leaf, a silk peony, bubble wrap, on colored card stock with the 5"x7" gelli plate. I can't say I particularly like most of these and I'll probably layer or work over them some more.

My favorite of the top group is the dark butterfly over the magenta background...

My favorite of this group is the bottom left with the lt coral peony on the paynes gray background...

I also re-strung this altered book covers journal. Above is the original, where I used a burgundy ribbon, which was laying handy when I started putting the pages together. I never liked it, but I thought I could live with it...I couldn't...

So, I took all the various sized papers and covers off the ribbon, including the tie ribbon, and replaced it with a brown leather strip that I had bought for jewelry making. It took a little while to re-thread the pages on, but it was worth it. I like it MUCH better! :)

2015 has started off good creative wise and otherwise. Hoping it stays that way!

More Gelli Print Fun In The New Year

I actually made these New Years Eve, but the top three are additional layers to some gelli prints I made and posted Dec. 30th, 2014, so it's ok to post them in the new year, I guess. Anyway, I used open acrylic paints, molding mats, a stencil, a dead leaf, my finger, and book pages for the last two prints. This is sooooo addictive!

I'm learning! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The first post of 2015:

 WISHING YOU ALL A HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR !

May the peace that surpasses all understanding belong to all of us during the coming year!