Layer Upon Layer

It occurred to me that my pile of prints look a lot like my paper tubes at the top of the blog.....I guess that's my colorful comfort zone.

I took some photos of the steps in making mono prints with a gel plate today.  It's hard to take pictures while your'e printing....you have to work pretty fast because these thin layers of paint dry quickly.  And it's messy.

I started with an atlas index page....I found this paper takes the paint really well.  I added several drops of paint to my gel press...I wanted a light green.                                                                                                          

Using the brayer I mixed and rolled out the paint.                               

I laid my paper down and applied pressure over the whole plate....and I pulled up a corner to see what it looked like.

Then I just pulled it off. It ended up being kind of neon....but it can be toned down. I don't always get the colors and color combos right...and I only have so many colors to work with.  I'm new to acrylic paints...especially mixing them.

                                             
For the next layer I used this crazy floral stencil and this time I used a darker green.                                                                     


I dropped on the paint, rolled out, and placed the stencil on top.   



This time I pressed with my hand and used my fingers to work the paper in around the stencil.
                           
 
                                                   
I was able to pick up the corner to gave it a little check.  It's quite a sharp contrast...maybe too much...but the print came out came out pretty good. I'll do another layer to tone down that neon green.
                             
 

What's left on the plate under the stencil is a ghost print and you can usually pull it right off with another piece of paper.  I chose this junk print just to see what would happen.                                                                  

 

It's always interesting to pull the paper off to see what you get....you never know. It's not that bad...especially on the teal end.

 There was still some of the ghost print left on the plate and I was able to pull that up with fresh paint...I chose a bright yellow. The ghost print is dry at this point...but the fresh paint somehow releases it. (most of the time)

 

I rolled out the paint over the ghost print and this time chose a map page from the atlas wondering what results I would get.                                                                

 

I liked the looks of it when I started pulling. I'm amazed how this atlas paper pulls all the paint so well.  The pinky peach parts of the map became an interesting orange and I got all kinds of greens from the other parts of the map.  I kind of like it!  It's full of texture.                                                

I tried to tone down the first on with a third layer of dark blue....same process this time using a circle stencil.   

 

The print came out OK...but I still think it's stark and too much of a contrast. I'm not quite sure at this point how to tone it down.  Maybe I'll consult with Elizabeth to get her suggestions. I might be able to do a light paint wash over the whole thing.

I pulled the ghost print rolling a lighter blue on top and really like this one. Layer upon layer upon layer....that's what I've been doing.  

Painted Papers

Here's a glimpse into the colorful fun I had today printing with my gel plate. I hope to take some step by step photos of the process tomorrow.  It's kind of addictive...and you never quite know what you're going to get.

Our first task was to create light colors solids. The goal is to build patterns and textures starting with light colors building up to the final darkest layer. Elizabeth does multiple layered papers for her collage work.


I used all kinds of papers....maps, book pages, deli paper (thanks Lynne) and even the release paper from my fabric fusing projects. This green one is the index page from an atlas which may be my favorite paper actually.  It pulls the paint off the gel plate really well.

The next task was to play with stencils for a second layer on top of our light solids. I had purchased a few fun stencils...and you can see I was quite fond of the circle one...partly because it was always close by. A few others I haven't even used yet. Some of these have two stencil layers.   

Here are a few closeups. I didn't have a lot of contrast on the first two layers...but there's a nice soft texture behind the dark blue. I'm still learning.

And I love the bits of map showing through this one. 

These next two only have one stencil layer. I like the simplicity of them....but more texture may be needed. 

It's been a fun, colorful day painting papers and I'm learning a lot.

Seed Pods and Duct Tape

I guess I'm in a seed pod mode....and that's a happy and familiar place for me.

I zoomed right into some interesting pods on our walk and Janet pointed out they were from hosta.  I generally cut my blooms down almost immediately so never let them get to this stage.  I thought they were lovely....so I brought some home. And of course I wanted the dried hydrangea bloom that was laying in our path too.

When I got home I walked my yard and there in the back of my garden next to the fence was one hosta stalk I missed. When I looked closely at one little cluster I found some beautiful shapes. There's always a hard green seed pod wherever there was a bloom....and clearly when they are allowed to sit though the winter they split open creating almost like a little flower.  I will most certainly leave some (just a few) to watch next year.                                                                                                           

And there was something about this tiny little pop of color on the stoop of a familiar home that drew me in too. We had a wonderful interaction with Joan, the woman who lives there, one morning on a walk several years ago. She gave us a tour of her gardens and her precious mushrooms....you can read that post here.  

The plastic flowers made me smile.....I love those pink ones because they remind me of rain lilies.  Both Janet and I were quite taken with the beautiful earthy and striking vase.  

Those black stripes were dramatic next to her gray house. But the closer we looked we were surprised to see that the interesting stripes were actually duct tape. Brilliant! The vase looked cracked so it may have started as a hold it together solution....but ended as a graphic piece of art.  Now I'm even more fond of Joan....maybe we'll run into her again on a walk sometime. And that was just the first hour of a wonderful day! 

Thank you to another Joan....who bought me lunch!

Tutorial Tidbit

The new lessons and videos are out today for the Fabulous Florals class...and this week we are finally printing the collage papers. I played around some last week...but really wanted to wait to share until I had the lessons so I could improve and learn new techniques.  I won't get back to Maine and my supplies until Thursday....so much more to come on that later in the week.

While I was patiently waiting I put to use a "Tutorial Tidbit" I learned from Elizabeth from one of her short Youtube videos where she shares tips and tricks.  I have quite a supply of specialty papers that I've collected over the years...embossed, metallic, textured, and even glittery. Elizabeth suggests painting them with fluid acrylic paint which is colorfast and will not fade.  Not only do you get the color you want, but they have more character and a handmade quality.

I watered down the paint on a paper plate and either painted it on with a big brush...or used a makeup sponge and smeared across the paper.  I may go back and give some little more color variation and texture. Some of these papers were already a color and the paint just enhanced it and sometimes changed it and other papers were white or cream to start. The metallic elements resist the paint.

The one on the left was cream...now it's a a few shades of rosy pink with little gold flowers and the one below started off as a very light aqua blue...now it's a rich blue with gold dots. There are so many uses for these!

Is It Possible...

....that a little curly twig could be one of my favorite possessions?  

Well...that may be a bit of a stretch but I do love this little gem.  Maybe not quite as much as this barn board it's sitting on from the family farm in Wisconsin.  Yes, other side is red.

I think Paul or I found it on a walk along the shore somewhere in South Portland.  There is a little weak spot....so I don't handle it much.  It sits on a shelf in my dining room with a few seed pods and a collection of tiny little pottery vessels. There's a tiny vase on the far right made out of stone. The shelf sat empty for a while after the Christmas decorations came down and I finally put it back together today.

I have a vast collection of seed pods...many of them are in Maine. At some point I hope to get the whole collection together in one place.  I love my natural found treasures!

I just remember I did this arrangement back when I took the Consciously Creative class.  It features many of my seed pods and other nature finds....all displayed on the other side of the barn board.

I can honestly say that online journey with 5ftinf changed the way I see and appreciate the world.  Forever.

New Growth

Several years ago I visited my sister Nancy and her husband in Minneapolis and came home with a little snippet from their pencil cactus. It has more than doubled in size and seems to be happy on the window sill in Maine.   It is one of my favorite little plants.

Before I left yesterday I notice these sweet little pink tips that at first I thought might be little buds. I do think it's new growth...and that makes me happy too. 

It goes well with the pink found feather! My window sill is one of my favorite spots in my house....and it's constantly changing.

Button Button...

...who's got the button?

I remember playing this game as a kid.... and Wikipedia describes it just like I remember.

The button puzzle is done.....and it's beautiful.  This was a fun one and I loved every minute of it! Thanks for loaning it to me Margie!

Paul and I had dinner last night with our good friends and it gave me a chance to see the progress on Anne's cathedral window "Fun-A-Day" project.


 It's really coming along....she's right on schedule.  I love all the patterns that get created: diamonds, circles, and long petal shapes.  The batiks really pop against the dark green fabric. Nice job Anne!  Glad you're having fun...a...day.