Monday, March 25, 2013

Printing Playday

Had a fabulous couple of hours printing with friends the other day.
My new Gelli plate ready to print
Over the previous week I'd watched a couple of very good dvds from the library about collage, pattern and printing by Anne Bagby.
Click here for a preview
Click here for a preview
She is an expert on getting fabulous prints from tiles so I had high hopes for my printing on glass experiments. Alas, very disappointing.
Left print from Gelli Plate - Right print from Glass
I will try the glass printing just one more time - perhaps a day just devoted to glass printing might help me focus on what went wrong. But for now my answers to the question : Why would you use a Gelli plate instead of a glass plate?
1. The Gelli plate is a fun and easy option for the new user - we had hardly any prints that weren't successful
2. More flexibility of mark-making options - the stencils and masks work brilliantly with the gelli plate - last time the stencils didn't work at all on the glass when left in place
Left print pulled with stencil in place
Right print second pull with stencil removed
3. You can get very detailed images from the Gelli plate
Deli paper (dry waxed paper) is a wonderful surface to print to. It was hard to source in New Zealand under that name, but this lunchwrap brand seems to do the job nicely - a great cheap option.
The foam plates I'd made worked brilliantly.
And this is the print I got from the plate to clean it after making the marks on the gelli plate - works well as a stamp
The background to the plate below is combination of foam plate (triangles), bubble wrap, a seed head stamp, and the swirls are a piece of card from an embossing machine. The bird is a mask
And this is the resulting print
The magic of revealing a masked plate ::
But it could be better. I love how these turned out from Rhonda on sheet music and a book page.
The mask of the lady now covered in lovely paint will be a great new collage element somewhere
And some prints started off as a 'failure' - the below paint was too light on the deli paper. Pulled again onto dark card, Katherine created this gorgeous ethereal piece
It is so worth getting friends together for a playday, because you learn so much more from each other than doing it alone. What if....
Both friends want a Gelli plate of their own now - totally sold on how fabulous they are.
I think this is only part 1 of a series of posts on gelli printing - had fun with the first layer, but lots more needs to happen here....stay tuned

9 comments:

  1. This is a wonderful record of a fun-filled day!

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  2. I haven't used a gelli plate yet...but love the results I've gotten with a gelatin printing! Your play time resulting in some serious awesomeness!

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  3. /All lovely - do I NEED one of these

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  4. Wow, Lynette! Really amazing creations to be had here! I've not done printing before (except for lino cutting when I was at school). You have really piqued my interest. How are you anyway? I've just done a blog posting myself on art and Bangkok. I don't think I could ever tire of this place!
    Love Debs

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  5. I love your prints! I've been experimenting with a Gelli plate and really love it. I also made myself some printing plates similar to you by using foam cutouts and gluing them onto cardboard. Turned out great!

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  6. love your prints and also your giant homemade stamps

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  7. Hi Lynette,
    I live in Havelock North and love the gelli printing. After showing it to a friend (she worked with my gelli plate and I with a home made one) we would like to buy another gelli plate but I can't find it anywhere. Would you please tell me where you got yours from?
    Thank you!
    Ingrid

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  8. Hi Ingrid - I have been in touch with Gelli Arts directly and they say they do not currently have any suppliers in NZ...the best service I have experienced from Australia is the Thread Studio - postage makes these expensive but Dale (the owner)is awesome. http://www.thethreadstudio.com/catalogue/exp/printingplate.htm
    Happy shopping, Lynette

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