Texture Prints with Stencils -- the Tool Makes Art and Becomes Art

Joan Bess is the person I thank for this technique.  I loved the concept she introduced so much that I decided to take it one step farther....  

Her 2014 post demonstrates using a Gelli Plate to create a textured paper that can be used not only as a printing tool, but also as a final artwork.

Using a squeeze bottle of textured paint and a sheet of paper, Joan opted for a freehand-drawn approach to making this tool.  

I decided to use stencils rather than a freehand approach, in my very first step.

First, I used masking tape to secure my 9"X 12" stencil Mimosa to a sheet of previously-painted-red newsprint. Then I began to outline the design with a watercolor pencil --



Above shows the stencil in full.

The above close-up shows the blue outlines as they are being drawn around each part of the design, by tracing the open edges of the stencil.

Above: The stencil has been removed; the watercolor pencil lines remain.

Above:  The outlining with textured paint has begun.  It's just a matter of following the lines drawn with watercolor pencil.  I felt no need to be exactly faithful to each of those original lines.

Above:  The textured outlines have been completed; now comes an important step --

--waiting for that textured paint to fully dry.  

Don't start printing with your Gelli Plate till you can raise your right hand and affirm on a Bible that the texture paint is DRY. 

Once I started printing with my Gelli Plate -- I used the 12" X 14" plate since my large Mimosa stencil measures 9"X 12" -- the process was quick and easy.  With a brayer, I spread acrylic paint over the plate, then pressed the textured paper face-down onto the wet paint.  When I pulled the paper up, it had collected some of the paint; it had also left an imprint on the Gelli plate.

I repeated this process several times with new layers of paint, continuing until I had pulled a number of prints. 

Having previously used the Gelli Plate with the Mimosa stencil itself -- not an outlined version created from the stencil -- I could immediately see that the two approaches had radically different results.

I'm pleased with the results I've achieved both the original way -- using the stencil itself -- and this new way, with the textured paint.

Some of the "new-way" prints are shown below.

Above is one of the original new-way prints.

Above:  This version started with the original green print.  After scanning the original into Photoshop, I altered its color blends.  Now, it will be printed out for use in an art journal alongside the original green print.

Likewise, the above pail blue print is the original pull.


And likewise, the purple version below was color-altered in Photoshop from a scan of the original pale blue print.

To show a comparison with the "old-way" Gelli Plate prints, created by using the stencil itself instead of a texture-outlined version, I'll include the images below --

For anyone puzzled by my term "the old way," I'm talking about brayering the Gelli Plate print with acrylic paint, then placing an original stencil onto the plate.  The stencil is then lifted, leaving its imprint on the plate.  Next, a sheet of paper is pressed onto the plate, and pulled.  The above two images were achieved this way.  Variety is the spice of life!

Last but not least, here is the paper I had treated with texture paint.  This is how it appears now that it has been used multiple times with the Gelli Plate.  It was a tool, but now it's artwork :

My 9"X 12" stencil Mimosa is available at www.StencilGirlProducts.com.
So is my 6"X 6" Mimosa, which fits either of the two smaller Gelli Plates.