Freeze the Gelatin Plate???

Freeze the gelatin and thaw and reform it when you are ready to print
It is possible to refresh the gelatin

So thanks to texas, artist and gelatin printmaker, Cathy Savage, I am hoping to extend the life of my gelatin plate.

I have two workshops that are two weeks apart and I am hoping to use the same gelatin plates.

Two weeks in the refrigerator in the summer is a long time.

So Cathy says freeze it, Microwave it and let it harden, and then printing begins.

One benefit seems to be that the mold and scum settles to the bottom of the gelatin after it is reheated.

So far so good.  I will see if it is ready for gelatin printing tomorrow.

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Gelatin Printing on slippery paper

©linda germain 2012
gelatin print on slippery paper

So I learned to love freezer paper from a student I had up at Haystack, Catherine Worthington.  She shared that it was one of her favorite studio tools.  We used it to make masking stencils for gelatin printing.  That got me to thinking.  What if I printed right onto slippery paper?  What would the ink do?  What would the marks look like?  How would the ink layer?    I happened to have a pile of slippery card stock that I got from EXCL in Lynn.  So I started to play and I ended up with some happy surprises.  The paper creates surprising holes and dots and marks.  It also releases some of the ink back on to the gelatin plate. So if you think it then TRY IT!  Happy printing

 

©linda germain 2012 gelatin plate monotype on slippery paper
gelatin print on slippery paper by linda germain ©2012

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Mural Dedication Haverhill – Friday


This is a good week to stop in and see my faces and figures exhibit at the wicked big cafe because the Mural dedication is Friday at 3 and we Are expecting about 100 people.  If you have time come to the event and mingle. It’s free! Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman  will be there in addition, the MA Cultural Council will be there too!
check out the details here

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Gelatin printing insights

several pieces of gelatin placed together to make bigger prints
©2012 linda germain

So I took Cathy McLaurin’s working big class for the second year in a row.  In preparation for the class I put several pieces of gelatin together and started making bigger prints.  Scale changes everything.  But I came up with some new insights during the process.

  1. the refrigerator can only hold a certain size.
  2. use thing strips of wood to hold all the gelatin pieces together
  3. slippery non-absorbent paper can give very interesting results
  4. charcoal can be picked and transferred on the gelatin plate.
  5. same pieces in a series can be pieced together to create large work.
But it is the first sunny day in  a week and I have to go to the beach.  Enjoy!

Post by Linda Germain

 

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