I find it freeing to work on several pieces at once. That way I can go with the flow.

And I can give each piece time to dry.

Having space to lay out the pieces in progress is important. Because I work small it is pretty easy to spread 5 to 20 pieces around the studio.

When screen printing I use a clothes line system.

When gelatin printing I use over sized pieces of foam core.

With book forms, I can usually get away with the 4 table tops in my studio.

Sometimes, I use the walls to admire work that is in progress or done.

If necessary, I have even used the floor, when I was in production mode.

Do you work on several pieces at once? Do you have special ways to expand your work space to accommodate drying pieces?

If you would like to explore binding prints or papers into books with a glued double fan binding, then check out the details on the workshop page. Class starts soon. This is a great way to use your piles of gelatin prints.

Do you want to make stuff and yet if feels like you just don’t have time? YES!

I think it is important that as creative people we find outlets for that urge to create something even when time is limited or motivation is lacking. Expanding my idea of what it is to create helps me fill my need to make stuff.

A few alternatives to my usual art making are:

• Taking self portraits on my morning walk
• Building a wilderness sculpture inspired by Andrew Goldsworthy
• Making a photo collage or slideshow with recent images
• Making repetitive marks on small strips of paper
• Painting blobs of color
• Walking around town with new eyes – looking for things I usually miss

 

These activities are easy to fit into something that I am already doing like walking, downloading photos or sorting papers in the studio.

So I encourage you to look for ways to add a little creativity to your day even if you have a long to do list. Even if you simply open your eyes to seeing the every day in a new way, I think you will be inspired.

If you would like a class to keep you making things then check out the current online printmaking classes.

One of the key skills that we will be developing in the upcoming class, Hand Printed Cards with the gelatin plate, is stencil design and cutting.

I was inspired to improve my stencil making skills when I took a class with Beatrice Coron. She is a storyteller and paper cutter. Enjoy her Ted Talk below.

In the upcoming class we will be creating designs that are sturdy, connected and good for printing with on the gelatin plate. I like to use Tyvek® because it is very strong and pretty easy to cut. This allows me to pull hundreds of prints with one stencil.

If you want to practice your stencil cutting skills then download and print out this pdf, Stencil Cutting Practice sheet. Remember to use a sharp blade and breathe. 🙂

The stencils that we will design and cut in class will be a little different than what I call the “hole” stencil.  They will be connected shapes shapes on a border, like paper cuts.

If you think you might like to learn these skills, the check out the details of the online printmaking class, Hand Printed Cards with Tyvek® stencils and the gelatin plate and join us today.

Gelatin Printmaking is a great process for making one of a kind cards for all occasions. The process is fast and very satisfying. My biggest challenge is inky fingers.

You can always cut and collage pieces of prints from you existing stash of prints. To do this I like to make a view finder and crop them down to size.

To find a pleasing composition:

1. Hover over the print with the view finder looking for dynamic balance.
2. When you find it pierce a tiny hole in the print at the inside corners of the view finder.
3. Flip the print over and draw square cutting lines between the tiny holes
4. Cut the print to size

I did the crop, cut and collage approach with the cards in the image above. You do have to take care to make things square and cut straight line.

Another approach to card making is to print your original image in the folded card format. This is a good way to go about it if you want to make a lot of cards with a similar design. I used this method in the cards below.

I use a very strong Tyvek® stencil, water based ink and the homemade gelatin plate. This allows me to make a series of cards that are based on the same image, but all a little bit different. This makes the process more freeing and creative.

You can get two types of impressions from the one stencil. The first print is the one on the right below. I is solid black with the white of the paper showing where the stencil blocked the transfer of ink.

The second impression is the one that I really like. It is the print on the left. I call it the detailed impression, because it captures the details under the stencil.

This detailed impression can be unpredictable and challenging to capture. The ink needs to stay alive and stick to the plate rather than the stencil.

If you want to cut some nice strong stencils and pull a pile of hand printed cards, then check out the details of the upcoming online class, Hand Printed Cards + the gelatin plate.

hand printed cards online workshop with Linda Germain from Linda Germain on Vimeo.