Mixed Media Printmaking Blog

Treasured Tools – Printmaking

mark making tools / Linda Germain / August 7, 2013

Treasured tools, we all have our favorite tools right?

Do you always choose that special brush that fits your hand perfectly?
Or the one brayer that rolls just right?
Or the jar of ink that is the perfect consistency?

I definitely have my favorite tools for gelatin printing. This picture shows 2 of them. Can you see the delicate grasses on the left? Not all grass and weeds are the same.

I look for grasses that are:

thin but sturdy
delicate and slightly dried, (fresh and green are weak)
long enough for my paper
variety of sizes

My second treasured tool is the metal film reel and other hand held metal pieces that I can use to stamp into the ink and remove ink or apply a thin layer of ink to the gelatin plate.

Today a team came to my studio to talk to me about the creative economy in Haverhill, MA. They are putting together a video for the next Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council. I got to show them the wonders of gelatin printmaking. They were impressed with what was possible with a bit of ink, a slab of gelatin and some delicate grasses.

What are your go to treasured tools?

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Printmaking without the Gelatin Plate

For June and July, I was committed to the Index Card A Day Challenge hosted by Tammy Garcia from Daisy Yellow. And now that I am done, I am creating a new structure for my making and blogging. I am not sure what it is just yet but I am excited about the challenge.

I am teaching @ LynnARTS this week. I have 12 young artists ready to go. I love to introduce them to bookmaking and printmaking when ever I can.

I don’t usually get to share the gelatin printmaking experience with them, so we do relief printing, stenciling and other planographic techniques.

Printmaking with Kids

Some of the printmaking projects that I have done with the kids this summer include:

a symmetrical stencil – memory game
Hand Cut Stenciled – Artist Trading Cards to share
Folded monotype butterflies and
Textured Rubbings as backgrounds for books

These crazy pictures are some rusty inspiration that I found on the side of the road a few days ago. I am thinking about rusting some fabric or Rives BFK printmaking paper. For now they sit and inspire.

And the journal is a recycled book that I did as part of the 21 Secrets class. You can see my quick video of the book just after I put it together here. The “Push” rubbing is from a fun piece of metal work from my artist buddy Sandra Golbert. The wiggly black and blue impression are relief stamps that I made with a cd cover and sticky back foam. Fun and easy!

Another non-gelatin printmaking process that I am enjoying right now is the thermofax screen printing process. I made a bunch of screens almost a year ago and have not really played with them much.

I used a dragonfly screen and made a few cards. You can check them out at my Etsy store – StudioGermain. My shop is new and I hope to add new prints weekly. So if you like what you see follow my shop and share it with all of your friends.

Happy Printing!

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61 Gelatin Prints in 61 Days – Done

2010, gelatin plate tips / Linda Germain / July 31, 2013

I did it! What a great community and leader in Tammy Garcia at Daisy Yellow. I did the ICAD challenge and have the gelatin prints on my wall to admire. These are some discoveries I made:

I like working small on a pre-cut size of paper
I like working in a series
I like the new gelatin, glycerin and water plate
It takes time to create, photograph, post and share
Goals and boundaries help me.

I have added a picture below of the materials I used to make my second gelatin, glycerin and water plate. I have not printed on this one yet but the consistency feels good, flexible, soft and spongy but not too fragile. So you could quite easily make this plate for yourself and be gelatin printing for months to come.

For this 5″ x 7″ gelatin, glycerine and water plate I used

1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of glycerine
1 box of gelatin
5″ x 7″ acrylic box frame.

It was a little tricky for me to make in such a small quantity. It got quite foamy. I followed my basic instructions and dissolved the gelatin in the 1/4 cup of cold water then added 1/4 of boiling. Stir with rubber spatula to dissolve and added the 1/2 cup of glycerine. I think it is ok to microwave it for a few seconds to help things dissolve.

It sets up really quickly. So there is little time to skim bubbles like in my first video. I think I will try adding a little more water next time. Or maybe a different pan. The deep acrylic box frame is a great shape and size but I have a hard time getting the plate back in it for storage and a hard time skimming off the foam and bubbles. Maybe I will dissolve the gelatin in the glycerin first and then add boiling water. I think that is what Lindsay , the frugal crafter did.

I would definitely NOT put any gelatin, glycerin and water mixture down the drain. I think it will harden and clog the drain. So clean your tools with paper towels and then lots of very hot water.

I found this everlasting gelatin, glycerin and water recipe over at the FrugalCrafter. I found another recipe that added a bit of sugar to preserve the plate. There is a full discussion of the questions that folks ran into and Lindsay has provided lots of advise. So I would check out her post above if you have any questions.

I do leave this gelatin/glycerin plate out on my work table and it has lasted quite a while. I have melted down another one that I made and reshaped it. It does not seem to be as affected by the weather as the gelatin and water only plate. I am becoming a be fan of this recipe.

Aine Scannell over at the gelatin plate flickr group is looking for ideas on how to make a really big gelatin, glycerin and water plate. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

Enjoy!

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It’s all about Balance

2010, stencils / Linda Germain / July 30, 2013

I had to take a breath and get a little balance in my day and life today. I tend to set goals and get excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Things get off kilter and I get to be not so happy. I think: