Mixed Media Printmaking Blog

Stencil silhouette for quick printmaking

stencil print / Linda Germain / November 18, 2016

Today day is day 18 of my 30 day challenge to #SEEdrawPrint. I did not see any reindeer flying over head, but I like the magic of the holiday season, so I searched for some inspiration.

I did some sketches and transferred the shaped silhouette to a manilla folder. I cut out the “hole” stencil and the masking stencil. That way I can use both pieces to create some holiday cards. I will use the cut out masking stencil with the gelatin plate.

When cutting stencils always use a fresh sharp blade and cut out the tiny details first. Cutting stencils is not as hard as it may seem and it allows you to make one of a kind personal images.

I like the texture and colors of the gelatin plate monotype background that I chose for the print above. I gathered 4 or 5 printed papers and added the reindeer silhouette. This way I can see what colors and textures to use for a future set of prints.

Do you have a few background papers that you could add a stenciled image to and create some cards or prints?

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A Trace monoprint of twiggy tree

trace monoprint / Linda Germain / November 17, 2016

Today I did not have lots of time, so I did a quick trace monoprint of a twiggy tree.

I love the fuzzy line that is characteristic of a trace monoprint. I used a newsprint pick up to lift off a little bit of the plate ink. Then I put the print paper on the ink and transferred the ink to the print paper with a pencil tracing of the original drawing.

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Feet stamps for block printing

relief prints / Linda Germain / November 16, 2016

Today I made soft carved block inspired by my foot prints. I am in a class called Contemporary Practice at Essex Art Center. We are being challenged to “map” a part of our body.

So I inked up my feet and did some printing on some big papers and started to get inspired. I am not sure where I will go with the idea but I am open to discovering.

I wanted to “map” a body part that was positive or a celebration of health or strength. First, I was thinking about focusing on my knee because it has been in so much pain for the last 6 weeks. Then I decided that I did not want to give that pain any more attention or power.

So since I like printmaking and bookmaking, I think my mapping project will take on that type of form. I hope to learn more about the wonders of feet in the process and celebrate the limited focus on the 2 things that I stand on all day.

I like the idea that I am using my feet to print and to make the art that is about discovering my feet – a full circle. So for day 16 of my #seedrawprint challenge I have made two printing matrices, a block for each foot. To see all 16 prints for the challenge click through the first few pages of my blog or if you are on instagram check out @LindaGermainArt and #SEEdrawprint.

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Drawing transformed in to a screen for printing

monotype print / Linda Germain / November 15, 2016

Line drawings are easily converted to a small screen for printing with a Thermofax Machine.

The machine is about $1200. and a roll of screen is about $200, but there are many folks who will create screens for you and sell screens online and in Etsy shops. I would suggest getting a few screens and trying out the process before you go and buy a machine.

Screen printing is a great process if you want to print many of the same image consistently. I realized that I don’t do that type of printing very often. I am more of a one of a kind, monotype printmaker. But I do love the type of line image that is possible with a thermofax screen print.

As I created this screen I thought about varying the thickness of the line to create a screen that would print some delicate lines and some bolder lines.

Once you get set up it is pretty quick to print up a whole piece of cloth. Use nice fresh ink and a sponge or squeegee to gently “push” the ink through the holes on the screen.

Check out how easy it is to get started with thermofax printing in this blog post.

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Carving Joy and Love – relief printing

relief prints / Linda Germain / November 14, 2016

Today, I carved a couple more eraser blocks with the words JOY and LOVE. I did a pencil drawing and then placed it face down on the eraser and rubbed to transfer the image to the block for carving.

I am getting faster and more confident the more blocks that I carve. I did a test print with a water based marker, and was pleased.

Then I rolled up some blue and red ink and printed a couple of cards and added some words to some gelatin prints to “finish” them off.

Sometimes the word works perfectly and then other times not so much.

I like to have the freedom to experiment and let it be ok to fail sometimes.

This is day 14 of my #SEEdrawPrint challenge, to see draw and print each day in November.

Do you have favorite ways to finish your prints? I introduce a few of mine in the Printed Gifts workshop. It is available now as a self study. Check out the details on the printmaking workshop page and see if it is right for you.

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