mark making tools Archives - Page 4 of 8

Use what you have

mark making tools / Linda Germain / March 17, 2020

As mixed media artists we collect things.

We see the potential in the unwanted and cast off.

I need to remind myself to “use what I have” every once in a while. Have you ever surprised yourself by making a delicious soup, when there was “no food” in the kitchen.

When I glance around my studio I see:

I have plenty of time
I have many tables and plenty of space
Stencils, paper, prints and stamping tools
Printers, computers
Window to the street
Dad for company

Surely there is no need to shop for more stuff.

One challenge that I love to give myself is to use what I already have. So I think I will take some time and sort through my space and stuff to find a focus for my next project.

What do you think? Could you find your next art project by examining what you already have?

Try it!

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Take a walk-find inspiration

inspiration, mark making tools / Linda Germain / October 18, 2019

Do you ever need a little pick-me-up? A walk around the block may be the answer.

I need to take lots of breaks to clear my head and get focused on the next thing to do. Sometimes I am stopped by “treasures” on the street.

This rusted piece of metal could be used:

to make marks in a foam relief plate
reference for a drawing
rusting cloth or paper

Another find was some autumn leaves.

I can use:

the colors
the textures
the shapes

to create stencils, prints and drawings.

I suggest you try a walk next time you need a bit of focus.

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Print with wonderful weeds

inspiration, mark making tools, tools / Linda Germain / October 13, 2019

Today as I enjoyed the one of the last sunny days at the beach, I also gathered some fall weeds for some upcoming projects.

I found some thin, detailed twigs and branches that I hope to use in a clay project.

If I were printing with weeds and grasses on the gelatin plate, then I would look for very strong and very flat varieties of weeds.

So depending on the printmaking process that you are using will determine what kind of weeds will work for you.
I use strong and moderate thickness to create foam relief plates. These kind of weeds need to be strong and thick enough to make an impression in the plate.

So I hope you are encouraged to see the value in roadside weeds for your printmaking practice.

This thick mess of weeds is too complex for using with the gelatin plate, but it is going to be great for one time use in making an impression in clay.
Happy hunting!

Get support from an online class. Check out the current offerings on the printmaking workshop page.

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Making a few Tetra Pak prints

mark making tools / Linda Germain / July 18, 2019

I recently started the Purple Carrot, meal service and one bonus is that I get beans in Tetra Paks.

My style of learning is to play, make mistakes and discover what I like. I had some trace monoprints of chairs on the wall and decided to make one into a Tetra Pak printing plate.

The plate is part collograph and part intaglio. I like the really dark areas which is the collograph style mark. The dark areas are created by slicing into and removing the top sliver layer of the Tetra pak.

It reveals the thin cardboard layer that sucks up a lot of ink. I really like the way the folds of the package hold the ink.

I use the Akua Intaglio ink and the X-cut Xpress embossing press to make these prints. I used dry Masa paper to print on.

This one above I was just playing with mark making tools to see what is possible the the Tetra Pak and the tools that I already have. I used embossing tools and tracing wheels and knife.

Happy Printing!

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Printing with stamping tools

mark making tools / Linda Germain / November 26, 2018

One of the main mark making approaches to gelatin printmaking is using what I call “stamping” tools to manipulate the thin layer of ink on the gelatin plate.