New Gelli Prints on Colored Cardstock and Parchment Papers

Several days ago, before I completely dismantled my studio/dining room for cleaning, de-cluttering, and organizing, I did a quick gelli plate print session with things that were handy, which included my 6" x 6" plate, Golden Open Acrylics, my handmade button stamp, a couple of feathers, a piece of rubber mat, and a brush handle to write with. Cardstock and parchment writing paper, in colors, that I have had for years were the papers of choice this day.

The colored papers didn't come across in their true colors for some reason, and some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy. Sorry! When I get everything back together, hopefully I will be better situated to make better pictures!

I started on a lt colored rosy gray cardstock and printed a solid square, which I intended to  put another layer over, but haven't yet. I have an idea though!

The back of the first print, where, for some reason unknown, I decided to clean off my roller.

 A ghost print of the first print on a darker gray cardstock, where it also picked up some paint from a previous printing, making it interesting.

This parchment writing paper is actually a pale yellow. Don't know what happened, but the print is much prettier on the yellow...

Close up of the print, which I love...

Ghost print on lt blue parchment writing paper of the above print...

More ghost prints of the above prints, and the cardstock is actually a cream color...

Parchment paper, which is actually yellow, and feather print..

More ghost prints on yellow parchment of the print above...

Prints and ghosts, all on the same sheet of lt blue parchment writing paper. I really like this one!

It's a slow go at getting my work space back in order, so I may get very little creative stuff done for a while, but I have so many things that I want to get done. Just praying my eyes don't give completely out on me!

We can't give up!

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!

Mini Gelli Print WIP

This week's mini gelli plate printing session, using mostly my finger to apply the paint, on scraps of paper left from printing and rice papers. These are about playing card size 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and are still works in progress for the most part.  I used my finger, my handmade button stamp, and white duck feathers that I found while decluttering.

New and/or Failed Gelli Prints and a Button Stamp

Another gelli print session with my 6" x 6" plate, using Open Media Acrylics on Speedball printmaking paper. I played with a crow feather, wild turkey feather, a silk flower, a roller, a brush, my finger, and a homemade button stamp (buttons glued onto a cd case). Most are still works in progress, as I will add details at some point. Fun stuff!

One of the failed ones from the last session that I added a pile of buttons to...

Another failed one from the previous session that I added another layer of paint to...

The third fail from the previous bunch that I also added a couple more layers of paint to. The photo is blurred. It actually looks much better in reality...

This one is a monotype where I finger painted the plate and printed the seascape. This one and the rest are new this session...

I call this a button stamp, but actually it works better to put the paint on the buttons and lay the paper on top and press down good. The brown print was a fail from another session, so I stamped black buttons, which I didn't like, so I stamped white, titan buff, and gold on top, for a pile of buttons. The other one is a gelli print, where I applied the paint in stripes with a brush, then gold buttons over.

Have you tried gelli plate printing yet? Keep learning new things! It's good for you! <3

Original Greeting Cards with Gelli Print Beginnings

These mixed media cards started off as gelli plate prints made with open acrylic paints. I started them last year, but got sidetracked and left them to percolate. Last week, I decided to finish them in mixed media.

I used a piece of rubber backing to make the texture over the print on this one, then a grape stencil over that, which I used acrylic paints to fill in. I didn't like those grapes, so I used iridescent acrylic inks to paint over that. Liking the card much better!

The buildings were the 2nd pulled gelli print on this one. I used an original cut stencil to make them. Last week, I added the red watercolor background, with a smattering of salt, and sun, added doors with a black gel pen, and windows with a ribbon full of little square holes. There are whole little worlds going on behind those closed doors if you look hard enough! :)

The same stencil was used on this card for the first pull, but I accidentally printed it upside down, which made the card open wrong, so what did I do? I turned it into a window tapestry by adding a blue watercolor sky and metallic gold stitching and tassels. Again, with a little imagination, there are different worlds thriving in each section!

I sprayed them all with clear sealer and called them done!

I have a few more that I gelli printed and worked on, but I haven't decided how to fix them yet. Stay tuned!

PYH&S 2018-Class 5-Mixed Media "From Heart to Spirit"

Telling a story in mixed Media on MM paper in a 9" x 12" journal, acrylic/gesso background, collage, stablio pencil, acrylic paints, photo print, stencil blank, gel pens, and possibly colored pencils. Class 5 in the PYH&S 2018 (link is on sidebar) course inspired by Annie Hamman, but not like hers.

Starting collage with found papers, napkins, paper doilies, music, teabag envelope, tickets, and some painted scraps from other projects.

I used this photo from Pinterest for the pose, but changed her for my purposes.

I also used this photo from Pinterest for the idea of the horse, but didn't use it.

I did, however, use an original stencil blank, which I traced around, that I had made previously, of my first childhood horse, Old Pat. She was an old gray gentle mare, and she was awesome. I printed off the clown photo, used graphite to coat the back, and used an old pen to transfer the outline of her, which didn't come through very well, so I still had to basically draw her, much of it with paint. I pretty much covered up my collage, which I didn't mean to do. I did leave a phrase showing through, and there are other elements showing through that are not showing up in the photo.

I found the owl and the hat in a magazine, cut them out, and collaged them on and added the ticket stub.

Worked more on everything in paint, collaged another napkin town over the first on, because I had pretty much obliterated the first one, added a printed off photo of the little dog who owned us for almost sixteen years, Kibbles, and painted her a little drum to sit on, then added some details. The phrase just in front of the town is torn from a piece of sheet music and says, "I'll be waiting."

Still adding more layers of paint, plus more napkin pieces with French writing and flowers collaged on, and I gave Old Pat butterfly wings.

Still playing and trying different things, including a little clown suit on Kibbles!

"I'll Be Waiting"

The version I stopped on, after some more adjusting and details. It could have some more work done, but I like it here, for now, so I'm moving on to the next class. Wish I'd painted it on a wooden panel instead of paper in my journal! Oh, well! This piece taught me a lot, so I'm happy! Plus, I loved the process, and learning to tell a story, even if I didn't follow Annie explicitly! 😊

Review: Moo Carve carving blocks

I hate to talk negative about anyone, but I tried the Moo Carve  blocks to carve my own stamps back at the first of the year, and wasn't happy at all with it. It was a waste of money, as I wound up ordering the speedball carving block anyway.

Moo Carve is soft and carves like butter, but is much too flakey and easy to break and chip off, both while carving and stamping.

For practice, I carved a small cross, added ink, and stamped a few in my journal.

One side broke off while I was stamping. I also had to be very careful while handling them. The least bit of pressure on the edges would break little chunks, or rolls, off.

I also carved a heart and tried stamping with it on the same journal page.

You can see on the red hearts that the more I stamped, the more it came apart.

This is the last thing I carved with the Moo Carve, a bird. It was the worst of all; I guess because it was bigger. It started breaking apart as soon as I started using it.

So the Moo Carve is sitting on a shelf, til I can figure out some other use for it. Some of you may love it, and that's fine, but it's not for me. For the time being, I will stay with the Speedball carving block, which I'm going to use as soon as I find my stamp carving tools. Sorry Moo Carve! I really wanted to like your product!

Ballerina Mandala

I don't exactly remember where I got the idea for this project, but I was playing around with different techniques that I've learned from various online teachers (Thank you all so much for sharing your art and yourself with me!)

I'm going to have to start writing the text to go with the pictures as I add them to the drafts. After a while, I get involved with other projects and forget what exactly I did the ones I already have in progress. Or maybe make notes!

Anyway, the substrate is cradled birch panel, which I failed to sand to smooth it out, thus it has kind of a rough texture showing through every other layer. I marked the center with a pencil, then applied indigo acrylic paint to, I think a stamp rectangle cut out of a foam plate, then applied the stamp to the edges, overlapping the ends.

The circle stamp is the bottom flat part of a foam plate with white gesso applied and stamped/printed on. I thought I had it centered, but, alas, it wasn't!

I drew and cut out the ballerina stencil from a sheet of stencil stuff, and applied white gesso through the negative space centered over the circle.

Deep purple acrylic has been painted over the white circle, more gesso added to the dress, and some flesh color to the skin.

I know this is looking the same color, but the circle is deep purple acrylic, and I added more indigo acrylic around the circle. Wasn't loving the splotchy look! The circle has been divided into sections for zen doodling.

As of now, I have started the zen doodling in the circle with a white gel pen, and it's another work in progress project that will eventually be finished. When it is I will post it!

I know nothing about it is perfect, but everything I do is a bit wonky. I am imperfect, therefore, whatever I create is imperfect. That doesn't stop me from loving to try!