A Fun Gelli Plate Video and a Collage or Two

I came across a great Gelli Plate demo video that I want to share with you. It inspired me to get out to the studio last weekend for another fun day with my plate. It’s titled “You Can’t Fail With a Gelli Plate with Carolyn Dube” and is perfect for illustrating how easy it is to make any number of simple to complicated prints.

On Saturday, I made a stack of new sheets by printing patterns onto just about everything, and then made a few more papers using painted surfaces and added drawing and doodles to them. Then after admiring them for a bit, I grabbed the scissors and cut them down to manageable collage-sized pieces. Those went right into my collage basket.

Here’s a new one. If you’re on facebook you might have already seen this one.

No Title Yet – Collage, 5.5 x 6.5″ on 8×10 backing

Notes re the above collage . . . Several weeks ago I had made some big drips of thin bright green paint on a rather large sheet of white paper and set it aside. I scanned the drip for use in digital art. So on Saturday I took a look at it and wanted to use it as collage paper, but didn’t like the harsh bright green on a stark white background, so I brushed black over it with a very dry, very long brush. The result ended up looking like wood grain. The background of this collage is actually three pieces of that same paper, reassembled in a new way, jigsaw fashion. The rest of the collage is made up of doodle fragments and a piece of a gel print.

Here’s another new one . . .

Quixotic – Collage with etching fragment and painted papers, 4 x 4.75″ on a 6×7″ backing

This one actually has a piece of an old etching of mine, visible on the left hand side. Nothing is safe from my scissors.

I hope you enjoy the video. I did.

Now I Know Why Artists Make Journals

A Song for Us – Collage, image size 4 x 4.5″

It’s Sunday, and yesterday was another great day in the studio making collage. Today I’m taking a much-needed day off. It’s raining, and raining, and raining some more, with high wind warnings and perhaps some hail later on. So that keeps me out of the garden. I keep looking over at the little basket of favorite collage materials, thinking I may not be able to resist again today.

All of this printing and collage making is creating an amazing stack of works on paper. I showed this picture a couple of months ago:

All of them are very respectable pieces. I do have my favorites, of course, and probably will end up editing the collection, using some parts to incorporate into new pieces.

So what does one do when more quantity isn’t necessarily a good thing? Art journals, of course! I have resisted the temptation, but may have to give in to it.

About the above collage: It’s made from pieces of gelli plate prints and an old etching.

A Good Studio Session

Optional Written Work – Collage with hand painted papers and ephemera

The title for this collage came to me out of the blue, but it seemed to fit perfectly. It’s another one of the newest ones from my two recent early morning collage sessions. Its measurements are 4-1/2 inches square on a backing that gives it a one inch border. If you click on the image you can see it in my Etsy shop.

Since I love using pieces of prints that I’ve made, I needed to add to that collection, so today I spent some time with my gelli plate printing new sheets. Here are some shots of the new stash from today’s session. Some areas of the sheets may look a little messy and chaotic, but it’s surprising how interesting they can be when cut down to size.

Note:  In this picture, the gold and brown patterned sheet at the top and the blue-green on a white patterned background (on the right) are both magazine pages to which I’ve added paint. No gelli printing at all with those.

 

The center (background) of this last shot is a big piece of brown paper that I’ve been using to clean off my brayers. This has turned into nice collage paper as well.

Not bad for a couple of hours’ work!

 

 

A Little Collage Therapy

“Domain” – Collage, 4.25×4.5 inches, backing 6×7 inches

After spending too many days away from my studio, it’s probably no surprise for you to hear that a little collage therapy was  in order.

The studio is a little chaotic right now. I haven’t had time to rearrange things since we ended our series of classes. I’ve been very busy with garden cleanup and family things. So what I decided to do was get out my “collage to go” kit early this morning before daylight.  I didn’t realize just how nice it would be to get my hands back into that little basket of papers. A couple of quiet hours later, I was at peace again.

There have been other therapies like starting seeds, and baking bread, and entertaining dinner guests. Those things are wonderful in their own way. But the art begs for attention no matter what fun is going on elsewhere. First it whispers, then it speaks, then it shouts, and eventually I have to just make time for it.

I’m thrilled with my newest collages and wonder if I’ll still feel the same way about them in a couple of months. Somehow I feel they are evidence of growth in a good direction, therefore I think they’ll stand the test of time. Are they a reflection of the joy I felt while doing them? I think so.

 

 

 

My Tools are Too Clean

The reason these tools are so clean is that absolutely nothing has happened in my studio this week. I’ve been busy getting my garden cleaned up ready to plant, and have managed to get some early things planted like English peas, beets, onions, and kale. I still have to start my tomato, eggplant, pepper, and cucumber seeds in flats, and will make use of my new present I bought myself, a miniature plastic greenhouse for those.

Eggplant Ping Tung, Planted Again – Quick Corel Painter Rendering

But at times like now, I miss painting. A funny thing dawned on me as I typed that just now.  I can choose to make it happen today, even if it’s only for a couple of hours. It’s all a matter of time management after all. I hope you are managing your time better than I am at the moment.

Featured in a New Treasury

A collage of mine is featured in a new Etsy treasury today. It’s a very unique and eclectic treasury, so I thought I’d share it here. To go to the treasury page, you can just click on the image. The title of the treasury is “Read Between the Lines” — the same as my collage title on the bottom right.

Curator: Burak from Cabinet Curios