Mixed Media Printmaking Blog

New use for Old books – Intimate ART

book arts / Linda Germain / June 14, 2017

Many old books end up in land fills or get recycled for paper pulp. This should ease your mind and give you the confidence to tear, cut, glue and reshape old books into new art making tools and art pieces.

Books are precious and powerful, but I think repurposing old unwanted books gives it new life and new power. I like to work with the parts of the book:

Covers
End pages
Page blocks
Spines

These parts can be cut apart and reassembled to make a new book with a rich patina and history. Sometimes you can find wonderful marks, notes, and history from prior readers.

If you have a pile of old books and you are brave enough to make something new with the old parts, then join us in the online workshop, Books as ART Materials. Click here to read the details on the workshop page.

In the class we will:

Take books apart
Use pages and parts to make stencils and stamping tools
Build new book forms

New use for Old books – Intimate ART Read More »

Sources for old books

monotype print / Linda Germain / June 7, 2017

As I am preparing my new class, Book as ART Materials, I am discovering new sources for old and unwanted books.

Independent Used Book Sellers

These local book sellers often have boxes of books that are too old to sell or otherwise headed for the recycle bin.

I found 2 kind book sellers who were willing to let me take books from there recycle pile.

Never 2 Many books – 58 Pulaski St. Peabody, MA – I found a box full of old books that I can use for book making art projects – Thank YOU!

Well Read Books – Rte 125, Plaistow, NH – Offered me to look through and take some of the books that were on the way to the book recycling project Rolling Thunder

I know that most of my readers do not live close to these book sellers, but I bet that you have similar types of bookstores in your area.

It makes it a lot easier to cut up a book if you got it for free or very inexpensively.

Some good sources for nearly free old books:

Yard Sales
Friends garages and basements
Small independent used book sellers
Local libraries

What to look for in an old book?

Cool covers
Interesting End pages
Old notes
Fades pages
Drawings, music, foreign language
Embossed words or designs

Click here to read more about the Books as ART Materials workshop here on the information page.

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Simple stencils from fabric designs

stencils / Linda Germain / May 22, 2017

I got several small fabric samples, at the local recycling center, extras for creative reuse.

I did some sketches, drawings and doodles with reference to some of the patterns. This is an easy way to draw something if you really don’t have a passion for drawing. It gives you a starting place. Of course you do not want to create exact copies of someone else’s design.

Today I cut a few simple trees and circles and used them as masking stencils while printing with the gelatin plate. Monotype printing on the gelatin plate is always unpredictable.

I have been exploring this process for several years and still l manage to discover new approaches. Today, I played with surprise ink on the stencil and releasing it in different ways on to the plate and on to the paper.

If you have not tried gelatin printmaking with the homemade gelatin and glycerin plate and you like working to discover new ways of making marks, then wait no longer. Get the FREE recipe and try it this week.

Make a Glycerin & Gelatin Printing Plate Now!

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Recycling an old book into a journal

artist book / Linda Germain / May 18, 2017

Sewn book bindings can intimidating. But the more you do the better you get.

Every time I make a Coptic stitch bound book, I need to refresh my memory and skills.

So with this journal I set perfection aside and embraced the re-learning of the coptic stitch binding.

When journals are too perfect and precious, then I seem to be reluctant to use them. So I guess is is great to have this less than perfect journal for doodles, lists, notes and drawing.

If you would like to explore re-use old books this summer, then stay on the printmaking list below and I will keep you posted.

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Watch and learn how to make the Gelatin Plate for Printmaking

Haverhill / Linda Germain / May 16, 2017

There are lots of different recipes for making the gelatin plate for monotype printing. And you can even skip the process and buy a commercially prepared plate.

Each type of plate will interact differently with inks and paints. So the key is to find your favorite combination of inks, papers and plates to create your style of gelatin plate monotype prints.

If you are new to this site, then you can get my free recipe for making the glycerin and gelatin plate here.

My favorite combination is 90 lb. drawing paper, speedball water based block printing ink and the homemade glycerin and gelatin plate. That combination of tools gives me some control and ability to create my style of marks.