Gelli Plate Land

Another recent trip thru Gelli Plate Land brought me these two prints --

 

 

The upper print was created with my 6"X6" stencil Seaweed and the smaller print below it was made with my 4"X4" stencil Fern Fronds Silhouette.  Acrylic inks were my medium.

More Gelli Plate Play

Previously, I'd stained a sheet of 140-lb. watercolor paper with blue watercolor; after that dried, I printed it with red acrylic paint using my 9"X12" stencil Twinship.  Today I've used that as a background for still more in my ongoing series of collages created with the use of stained stencils themselves.  The two stencils below were stained beautifully as I continued Gelli Plate printing yesterday.  I can always buy more stencils, and these were just too much to my liking for me to use them any further as tools.  They've come art.  I'll show them separately, then together:

Above:  My 4"X4" stencil Fern Fronds Silhouette.

Above:  My 6"X6" stencil Palm Fronds Silhouette Small -- which also comes in a 4"X4" size labeled Mini.

Above:  The two stencils together.  I like the way the larger stencil opens large on its upper right to frame an "eye" in the print from my Twinship stencil.

Gelli Plate Adventures

The Gelli Arts Plate got some more use recently.  I'm slowly discovering the reasons I've had problems getting prints that satisfy me.  One mistake I've made has been to press too hard with the brayer when spreading the acrylic paint across the plate.  Next time I use it, I plan still more changes to try. 

Meanwhile, here are some recent prints:

Above:  2 stencils used at the same time -- 6"X6" Cats was first onto the plate and 9"X12" Twinship was atop it.  I lifted both stencils off the plate, leaving their impressions in the paint, then pulled a print.

Above:  Barely visible on the left is an old print of 9"X12" stencil Queen Anne's Lace ; more visible, especially on the right, is 9"X12" Wrought Iron Gate.

Above:  I used Wrought Iron Gate stencil to make a print on a sheet of foreign newsprint.

Above:  I used 4"x4" Fern Fronds Silhouette like a rubber stamp to make this print, right after lifting the still-wet stencil off the plate.

 

Above:  2 stencils were used at the same time -- 6"X6" Heron was placed on the plate first, then 9"X12" Twinship was placed over it.  Next, I removed both stencils and pulled the print.

NEW NEW NEW cluster continues -- More Lemonade, Anyone?

In my May 25 post -- http://tinyurl.com/ky3xenl -- I showed step-by-step photos for using lemon juice with stencils, aged paper and a hot iron to make vintage-looking prints.

Today I'm showing more prints created in the same way, this time with my just-released 4"X4" stencil Fern Fronds Silhouette -- 

The above four prints were made on vintage papers.  No two prints are ever the same.

Above:  This is the BACK side of another lemon-juice print, on a different kind of paper.  The front side was pretty -- but so subtle that it doesn't scan well.  This side, however, has all the contrast it needs.  So, check the back sides of all your lemon-juice prints!  Surprises may await you.

Above:  I'm adding this final image just for fun.  It's not made with lemon juice.  I created it while playing around with leftover paints and my Gelli Arts printing plate.

To review the May 25 post that gave step-by-step directions for, and photos of, the stencils-with-lemon-juice process, click here -- http://tinyurl.com/ky3xenl .

NEW NEW NEW -- FERN FRONDS SILHOUETTE

My just-released Fern Fronds Silhouette is a mini of 4"X4" that packs a big wallop despite its petite size.

In all, I have 6 newly released stencils; each is being posted with projects/techniques under a cluster title-prefix "NEW NEW NEW."

Here are two just-finished Gelli Plate prints, created with two of the 6 new stencils.

Fern Fronds Silhouette (4"X4") was used here --

And here, in another Gelli Plate print, I've used both Fern Fronds Silhouette (on the left) and, on the right, Quilted Flower Garden.  Greater detail is shown when you click on this image to enlarge it--

Please check out all of my NEW NEW NEW posts, for detailed projects using my 6 brand-new stencils at www.StencilGirlProducts.com -- to see all of them, you will need to click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of this web-page.  Thanks!

NEW NEW NEW Stencil Release & 2 Techniques -- It's a Messy Business --

-- so wear disposable gloves, to try these 2 quick and easy projects with very few supplies:  iridescent Shiva Paintstik oil crayons, a stencil, thin, dark papers and a sharp knife.  I used black and other dark mulberry papers because of their thinness.  The best iridescent Paintstik colors to use on dark papers are silver, white, and light gold.  For these projects, I chose gold and silver.

Just before use, a Shiva Paintstik needs to be "primed" in that it naturally forms an outer "skin" which must be removed. This is easily done with an Exacto knife -- but it should be done by an adult, never a child; these knives are sharp.

Before introducing Project One, I'll announce that the stencil I'm using here is just one of six brand-new botanical-themed releases at www.StencilGirlProducts.com.  To see all of them, and the array of techniques I've used them in, please continue reading the "NEW NEW NEW" cluster of posts that follow this, as you scroll down. 

Project One begins with placing a stencil onto the dark, thin paper-- here I'm using my new 4"X4" stencil Fern Fronds Silhouette:

The stencil is held secure with one hand, while the other rubs across the top of the stencil with the Paintstik held flat on one side, as shown below.

The above photo shows that all spaces in the stencil design have been completely filled with a layer of metallic Paintstik crayon.  In the photo below, the stencil has been lifted off the paper and placed above the imprint.  

Above:  The oil crayon-coated stencil is at the top; under it is the imprint.
Below is a close-up of an imprint made in this way.

At this point, the stencil is heavily coated with leftover oil crayon.  To create another imprint of a different kind, without using more crayon, the stencil is placed on fresh paper and held in place with one hand, while the other uses a soft rag or a paper towel to rub across the stencil and the open areas of the stencil --

An imprint made this way is shown close-up below; it's been cut out for use in a collage or greeting card or an art journal page.

More than one "ghost print" can be made in the way just described, until most of the crayon has been removed from the stencil.  Then the stencil can be completely cleaned with an alcohol wipe.

Now comes Project Two, using the same materials. 

The first step is to slide the stencil under a fresh sheet of dark, thin paper.

Above:  the stencil is being pushed under the paper.

The second and last step is to rub the sideways oil crayon across the paper, pressing into the outlines of the hidden stencil below. This is a very old technique.  Oddly enough, its results are called -- ready for this? -- rubbings.  Below is one rubbing created in this way:

One place to purchase these oil crayons is --

http://www.dickblick.com/products/shiva-iridescent-artists-paintstik-oil-colors/.

Another vendor is --
http://www.dharmatrading.com/markers/shiva-paintstiks.html

The second link, for Dharma Trading, takes you to a webpage where you can watch a video of these oil sticks being used to make rubbings on fabric.  I'm not into fabric arts, but I suspect that when these oil crayons are used on fabric, there are follow-up steps for setting the color permanently.  Dharma would have information on this. 

The stencil used in this post, Fern Fronds Silhouette, is now available at www.StencilGirlProducts.com.  This is one of 6 just-released stencils continuing my line of botanical designs.  The other stencils are individually featured -- with other art-making techniques -- here in my "NEW NEW NEW" cluster of posts.  Thanks!