mark making tools

Take a walk-find inspiration

inspiration, mark making tools / /

Do you ever need a little pick-me-up? A walk around the block may be the answer.

walk for ideas

I need to take lots of breaks to clear my head and get focused on the next thing to do. Sometimes I am stopped by “treasures” on the street.

metal wire for printmaking

This rusted piece of metal could be used:

Another find was some autumn leaves.

Leaves to inspire printmaking

I can use:

  • the colors
  • the textures
  • the shapes

to create stencils, prints and drawings.

I suggest you try a walk next time you need a bit of focus.

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Print with wonderful weeds

inspiration, mark making tools, tools / /

Today as I enjoyed the one of the last sunny days at the beach, I also gathered some fall weeds for some upcoming projects.

be inspried by the beach

I found some thin, detailed twigs and branches that I hope to use in a clay project.

twigs for printmaking

If I were printing with weeds and grasses on the gelatin plate, then I would look for very strong and very flat varieties of weeds.

So depending on the printmaking process that you are using will determine what kind of weeds will work for you.
I use strong and moderate thickness to create foam relief plates. These kind of weeds need to be strong and thick enough to make an impression in the plate.

soft relief plate for printmaking

So I hope you are encouraged to see the value in roadside weeds for your printmaking practice.

weeds for printmaking without a press

This thick mess of weeds is too complex for using with the gelatin plate, but it is going to be great for one time use in making an impression in clay.
Happy hunting!

Get support from an online class. Check out the current offerings on the printmaking workshop page.

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Making a few Tetra Pak prints

mark making tools / /

I recently started the Purple Carrot, meal service and one bonus is that I get beans in Tetra Paks.tetra pak for printmaking

My style of learning is to play, make mistakes and discover what I like. I had some trace monoprints of chairs on the wall and decided to make one into a Tetra Pak printing plate.

chair drawings by linda germain

The plate is part collograph and part intaglio. I like the really dark areas which is the collograph style mark. The dark areas are created by slicing into and removing the top sliver layer of the Tetra pak.

intaglio Tetra pak printing plate

It reveals the thin cardboard layer that sucks up a lot of ink. I really like the way the folds of the package hold the ink.

chair print by linda germain

I use the Akua Intaglio ink and the X-cut Xpress embossing press to make these prints. I used dry Masa paper to print on.

playing with mark making tools

This one above I was just playing with mark making tools to see what is possible the the Tetra Pak and the tools that I already have. I used embossing tools and tracing wheels and knife.

Happy Printing!

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Printing with stamping tools

mark making tools / /

One of the main mark making approaches to gelatin printmaking is using what I call “stamping” tools to manipulate the thin layer of ink on the gelatin plate.

tiny gelatin print collage

In the thumbnail collage above I used:

  1. handmade relief stamp
  2. cut corrugated cardboard
  3. die cut thing
  4. plastic plate holder
  5. pattern tracing wheel
  6. threads
  7. jar opener
  8. plastic doily
  9. relief stamp made from rubber bands

Ten stamping tools for gelatin printing linda germain

So search your:

  • studio
  • kitchen
  • recycle bin
  • toy chest
  • sewing box

for new stamping tools to use for gelatin printmaking.

If you would like to study with me and other artists from around the world, then join us in the next session of Make Monotypes.

It is a 4 week online gelatin printmaking class. We will explore all the tools and techniques for gel printing with ink on paper.

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Make your own low tack tape

mark making tools / /

One of my mottos is:

Use what you have.

I still have the urge to go out and buy new supplies. But sometimes I have the ability to resist that urge.

abstract landscape by linda germain

Recently I have been taping down paper for some watercolor play.

thumbnail paintings of landscapes by linda germain

One of the projects called for very thin masking tape that could be removed from the paper without ripping the paper.

masking tape for taping down water color paper

I had some cheap blue painters tape from the dollar tree store. So you know it is not as good as the 3M version.

The trick to making it less sticky is to stick it to your pants, apron or cutting mat a few times before you use to tape down your paper.

This method has been working for me for a couple of weeks. I even cut the 2″ tape into 1/4″ strips to do these thumbnail studies. I was surprised how easy it was.

cut wide tape to size to mask paper for watercolor painting

I do remove the tape very carefully and watch for paper tears.  If the paper starts to tear, I gently remove the tape from another direction.

thumbnail watercolor studies of trees

Enjoy!

 

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