Art Journal Collage Using Gelli Prints- "To Be Brave"

I've been seeing some amazing collages made by artists using their gelli plate prints, so I thought I would try one! Mine isn't amazing, but it was fun to do, fed my soul, made me happy, and I like it. 😊

The base gelli print was a page in my journal where I had cleaned off my roller and my plate and added the gold buttons, using a handmade stamp. I liked it as it was, but decided to develop it further into a mixed-media collage. The long white/pinkish strip on the left is another gelli print that I had intended to turn into a bookmark, but since I had sort of sketch/painted a tailless bird on one end, and the colors seemed to work with the journal page, I glued it down with matte gel medium.

I added some stars and a large circle that I had punched out for a previous project. I outlined all with a charcoal pencil. The large circle needed something, so I used one of my downsized original monotypes, from a previous jewelry project, to break it up, and outlined it with the charcoal pencil. I added the pink/gold washi tape to kind of break things up, and glued a piece of text down, but it still needed something under the bird.

I happened to have a white duck feather that I had previously used on a couple of gelli prints to pick up paint from the plate laying on my desk. It also happened to be blue! So I cut off the end and glued it to the bird, giving him a tail, and finished painting the bird. I also gave him a posca marker branch to sit on. I gave the whole page some charcoal scribbles and bits of paint and called it done!

Mixed-media journal paper, mixed-media, including, Golden open media acrylics, handmade button stamp, gelli prints, a printed duck feather, posca marker, charcoal pencil, punched out circles and stars from painted papers, text, gold metallic acrylic paint, washi tape, palette knife to paint bird body/head, and probably something else that I forgot. Since my work space is in total disarray, and my space to work is about the size of my 5"x 7" gelli plate and sketchbook, I used whatever was handy, but I'm thinking it turned out ok.

Can't wait to try a collage painting using my gelli prints, but I may try a couple more of these before I attempt that. I also need to get back to my classes that I started last year, but maybe I will and maybe I won't. Sometimes, I just need to do my own thing! 😊

Stay creative and happy!

Cats Quirky Doodle Sketches

I'm still out of practice, or lacking focus, somewhat, but did coax these images out of my quirky doodle pages a few days ago! Lyra water-soluble crayon in mixed media journal.

Jan 17 Gelli Prints

I am in somewhat of a creative slump at the moment. My workspace is in more disarray than usual as I'm trying to clean and organize it, and it's a slow process, because I have so much crammed into such a small space. I barely have room to turn around, a tiny space on my table to work in, can't find anything I want to work with, and it's very frustrating. It will, however, work out at some point!

I did a little de-cluttering in the spare bedroom this week and I did a little gelli printing today with my 5" x 7" plate, open media acrylics, speedball printmaking paper, and some end pieces cut from other prints. The prints are all one layer monoprints and some of the bookmarks have two layers. I used a palette knife to apply the paint this time.
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These bookmark beginnings actually came at the end of the session. Some were used to clean off the plate, and some were printed from paint added to the plate. They are printed on both sides, but I forgot to take pictures of the backs. I will show both sides after embellishments and writing/text is added.

Sorry these look a bit fuzzy. I am having eye problems, and some days I see better than others. The last print is on a sheet of regular printer paper, and was used to clean the plate.

Dental appointment tomorrow. NOT looking forward to it! I do, however, look forward to my next paint slinging appointment. :)

Have an awesomely creative week!

Jan 14 Gelli Prints

Today would have been my parents 70th wedding anniversary, and although my head wasn't really into playing with my art, I played with my 5" x 7" gelli plate, open media acrylics, and Speedball printmaking paper for a little while. These are all multiple layers, and I used a plastic doily, a paper lace doily, a stencil, a feather tip, and a cotton swab, and on part of them I tried a layer of white. The white wasn't the smartest move, but it did give them kind of a foggy, misty, look.

Not really happy with most of these, but they are what they are, and will be used in some compacity at some point in my creative journey. So it's all good!

Pendents, Keyrings, and a Bookmark Experiment

I finished up the pendent tray kits I had ordered this week. I still had some thumbnail prints of my original art on good matte photo paper from the first twenty-three I made (see previous post) for Christmas gifts, including one for myself and one for hubby.

These have been glued to the glass domed cabochons with Diamond Glaze and left to dry. Some have not been trimmed to size yet. This time I sealed BOTH sides of the print, and the metal tray, before gluing anything together. Although, the first ones I made seem to be okay, I just wanted to be on the safe side this time. I'm still learning!

These have been glued into the trays with the Diamond Glaze and left to dry. It's almost impossible to keep from getting some glue on the glass, at least it is for me, so, when all is dry, I will use a bit of alcohol to clean the glue off, and attach the necklace chains and keyrings, and they will be ready for small gifts as I need them. They will also make good purse jewelry or tree ornaments, etc.

This set includes gelli plate prints/monotypes, mandalas, paintings, and a quirky doodle sketch painting, and they are done in open media acrylics, inktense watercolor, and mixed-media.

These are about an inch in size, and I love them, but I'm looking forward to doing some larger pieces, maybe a couple of inches in size. I'm trying to decide on the style and colors I want, and I have a hard time making up my mind about anything. :/

Front and Back

I have a stack of end papers that I have cut off of larger prints, so after a gelli plate printing session the other day, I cleaned off my plate with some of them, thinking they might make good bookmarks. 

This last week, I decided to do a trial run with one. I added a few marks to the front in black gel pen, let it dry while I cut a piece of laminate, then lay the paper on the laminate and pressed it down. Only then did I notice the plain white, paint smudged, ugly back, that I had meant to do something about before I stuck it down. It happened that I had another print the exact same size, so I used Diamond Glaze glue to glue it to the back of the first print, and tried to get it smoothed out and dry. I also used a heat gun a bit to speed up drying. I hoped it was dry and adhered the other piece of laminate to the back, pressed good, trimmed to size, and punched a hole in the top for embellishing with beads, tassels, etc. Next time I'll print both sides of the paper! Much easier!

This one was only a trial, mostly to learn what "not to do". The next ones will have embellishments on the top and some words/writing added. Stay tuned to see what I come up with! 

Happy creating, whatever your activity of choice!

Quirky Doodle Girl and Rabbit

I managed to do a couple more quirky doodle intuitive sketches a few days ago. I have gotten out of practice through the holiday season, and it's a little harder to pull the images out of my marks, but these two finally showed themselves. 😊 Lyra watersoluble crayon in mixed-media sketchbook.

I am currently trying to clean out a lot of accumulated stuff in our home, and also my parents' home, so I'm not working on anything big, or for long periods of time, creatively. However, I do still do something creative with my art every day, even it it's doing a blog or page post, reading about or looking at art, just doing a quick sketch or doodle, gluing a few pieces of collage or jewelry together, fiddling around in my workspace, or sitting in it for a few minutes with coffee and music letting ideas and dreams percolate. It all brings a sense of peace and relaxation to my soul and mind amidst all the chaos, both externally and internally.

Hope your new year is off to a good start! It's a good thing to be creative every day, just for yourself,  even if it's only 5-10 minutes!

2018 Blog Book

The book of my blog posts for the past year, printed by Blog2Print online, came yesterday!

 I am well pleased with it. The pictures of my art are a little small, but most of them still look good. I had to use the medium picture size, because I couldn't afford the large size. I discovered that I can do all the pictures here on the blog at the large size and they will also be bigger in the book, so I can still have them printed at medium size, but they will still be bigger and show up better . Yay!

Front

Back

Sorry about the picture quality! My eyes are giving me problems (dry eyes and cataracts) and I was shaky. I'm going to set up a more stable place to take photos soon. Hopefully they will be better!

I have one of these for each year I've been posting to a blog. I've always ordered two and given one to my mom, until last year. She passed away in 2017, so I gave the one that would have been hers to her baby sister, my Aunt Lela, who is the only one of the siblings left now. This year I only had one printed for myself, as a record of my art adventures from the past year. It felt odd.

Anyway, I hope I can print one every year that I publish a blog. We have no children, but maybe someone will want them to remember me by. 

New Things to Organize my Stash!

So, I made a start at decluttering and organizing my creative space, or I should say spaces, before Christmas. It came to a stand still during the holidays, which I'm still trying to get over.

My plan was to clear all the piles covering every flat space into boxes and baskets, move and clean under the furniture, rearrange it, then sort and organize my stash as I took it back out of the boxes and baskets. That's not working too well. I can't find anything I need to work with in the TINY little spot I reserved to make art! Everything is out of place and on the bottom. YIKES!!! So I'm going to have to come up with a better plan, because I NEED to create.

My work space is also our small dining room, and it's embarrassing when people share a meal with us and have to hold it on their laps, picnic style. Hubby and I never use the table, preferring to eat in front of the TV.

Anyway, our awesome nieces, seeing that I was at least making an attempt, got me this rolling cart of ten drawers and a set of nesting books/boxes to help me get organized. Aren't they kool?

Now let's see if I can fill them up, or will they be sitting next to all the other containers/baskets/drawers that I have had for a few years, sitting empty, taking up space, and waiting to be filled with my stash? Time will tell! In any case, they are beautiful to look at. Stay tuned!

First Art of 2019!

NO resolutions this year, because I never keep them anyway! Also, going to try my best NOT to sign up for any year long classes or challenges. There are too many variables in life that interfere with my intentions, making it somewhat stressful for me.

For instance, I completed the Series 52 challenge with Jeanne Oliver in 2018, where we focused on art, in some form, every week, and posted it online in a group for 52 weeks. At the end we have a series of art to look back on. I actually made over 100 pieces of art, some complete, some works in progress, but, and although it took some doing, I focused and completed the challenge, also gaining confidence and experience in my art, so it was a success.

On the other hand, I signed up for the Paint Your Heart and Soul 2018 year long classes with Olga Furhman, which is absolutely wonderful, and I was doing okay with the weekly classes for the first three months, but my father-in-law, already in bad health, got really sick, was in the hospital, and passed away in February. Then, since I had neglected my dental health for so long, due to our parents' illnesses and deaths, I had a LOT of dental work to be done, which took all summer and fall. Point is, I got out of the habit of doing the classes, and as much as I enjoyed and learned from them, I haven't been able to re-focus on them. The classes are available for life, though, and I have printed off info and pictures of the classes, so I can continue when I'm ready. Some of the classes I really want to do and learn, so I plan to do some, if not all, of them at some point. Right after I finish the three class projects I already have in progress!

With that being said, I also haven't been able to focus on my quirky doodles either, mainly because I got addicted to gelli plate printing, which I now have stacks of. The horse is a quirky doodle that I actually had started a few weeks ago and had not been able to see an image hidden among the marks. I picked it back up New Year's Eve night and pulled this odd looking horse out. Odd, but I like him!

This is actually my first quirky doodle of 2019, January 1. I have not been exercising my hand eye ability to pull out the images for a while, so it's not coming easily to me right now. I did pull out the egg images, which I may add markings or paint to at some point. I added a pinkish filter to it in photo editing. 

Both doodles are in my mixed-media journal with a Lyra water soluble crayon.

The pink PEACE stencil at the left is actually the front overlay off a Christmas card I received from a dear friend. I experimented with it today on my 5"x 7" Gelli Arts plate with open media acrylics and Speedball printmaking paper. Some turned out okay, some not!

Experiment with a small roller and paint in several layers. Some leftover paint on the plate from the PEACE prints came off on this print, adding some interest. Sorry about the light glare!

This, and the next print, are the first and second pulls off the same single layer of paint, which I applied a little too thickly in five stripes, and spread/mixed with my finger. I love the dark jewel tones!

After this last print, there was still some paint left on the plate, which I wasn't going to waste!

I took some end papers that I had cut off of some prints and cleaned the plate of excess paint, and viola, with some trimming, laminating, and a little embellishing, I have bookmarks to share!

Gelli prints have sooooo many great uses! Even the little snippets can be used in collage, so there are no failed prints or waste. Can't wait to try using some in a collage!

I'm not quitting on my other painting, but these sure are a lot of fun! 

Let's see what kind of art adventures we can have fun with in the coming year! It's good for our sanity and our souls! 😀

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019!

Wishing you LOTS of Light, Love, and Laughter in the coming year!

Angel finally got her wings this year, but not tree up to sit atop! A couple of mama's crochet doilies to watch over though!