I played with a large plastic doily  and a masking stencil to get this red white and blue gelatin print. I liked the combination of the delicate lacy marks of the doily and the silhouette.

Gelatin Print Stencils

• can tear easily if they are just cut from paper.
• But no fear you can fix them.
• This stencil ripped as I was lifting it off the gelatin plate
• so I just used a little mat medium to glue it back together.

Cutting stencils can take some time so I want my masking stencils to last as long as they can.  I shared some tips about stencil cutting in this post.

Best material for Stencils?

I can’t really say.  It depends on what results you are looking for and if you want the ink to stick to the stencil or just be blocked by the stencil. So

• Try mylar
• drawing paper
• magazine pages
• card stock
• plastic
• rubber
• try coating the stencil with paint or medium several times

And decide what you like for the type of prints that you create.

Happy Printing!

Wonderful day today. This horse gelatin print expresses that joy for me.  Freely cantering on.  aaah.

For this gelatin Print

• index card substrate
• speedball inks
• gelatin/water printing plate
• well used stencils and
• the pre-ink technique I demo  here
• direct brayer marks

I noticed that gelatin printing made it into the washington post and abc news.  Too funny.

 

Enjoy!

A simple masking stencil and a lot of ink to make this gelatin plate monotype print.  I just kept layering on more ink to increase the contrast and create an image that I was happy with.

 

Gelatin Plate Monotype Print

If you follow my work, then you probably have noticed that I like to use a strong dark image as a focus.  With these small prints I like to fill the frame or set the image off center to create uneven spaces and hopefully some interesting movement in the print.

This print is made with

• simple brayer marks
• speedball inks
• regular gelatin/water plate
• paper stencil (well used and coated with layers of paint and ink)
• index card

I am putting together a newsletter soon.  Is there a question about gelatin printmaking that you would like answered?  Let me know maybe I have the answer and could share it with all my readers.

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Happy Printing

Today I was printing with a profile masking stencil.  I created a couple of gelatin prints that I was happy with and started to clean up.  Then i noticed this gelatin print that was created during the clean up process.

So Funny…..

I often say to my students that you will create your best prints when you are cleaning  up, just getting rid of ink and not worrying about anything.  Well that was true for me today.

I have been experimenting with the everlasting gelatin plate recipe that Lindsay the Frugal Crafter shared on her blog.

I made several prints on this glycerin, alcohol, gelatin and water plate.  It……

• is super flexible and seems durable
  
• did not change sitting out on the workbench all day and night
• I tried the speedball inks and the golden open acrylics
• I found glycerin at CVS and walmart
• my inks were kind of fickle – they did not want to release from the plate every time

I think it is so great to have so many gelatin plate options these days.  You have

1. Gelatin and water – recipe here
2. Gelatin, Alcohol, Glycerin and water @ the Frugal Crafter
3. Gelli Plate – no recipe needed 

and you can always get creative and try other surfaces to hold ink, impressions and make your mark.  I have heard some use –

• Plastic sheet protectors
• rubber roofing material
• silicone mat

I am thinking that each type of plate and ink/paint will create a different effect. So use what you like, use what you have and happy printing.