monotype print

I love that gelatin printmaking makes printmaking accessible to folks who:

• don’t have a printing press
• have little experience
• want to explore printmaking at home

You can see the basic moves in this short video.

• water based ink
• gelatin and glycerin plate
• stencils, like the ferns above
• paper stencils and
• found stencils like feather
• stamping tools to lift and apply ink
• drawing paper

You will have plenty of time to explore and experiment. I hope to see you on October 14th at the Museum of Printing. Claim your space today – click here for details and to register.

This is a palette with some ink and brayers ready for printing with the gelatin plate.

This image shows the 2 basic styles of impressions that you can make with stencils and stamping tools and the gelatin plate. On the right is the dark blue “shaped impression”. It is the shape to the grasses in white.  I call the print on the left, the detailed impression. This is because it captures the details that the grass made in the ink.

And these are all made quite quickly with mere hand pressure.

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This Saturday is a great day to come to Haverhill, Massachusetts.

The Museum of Printing is FREE ADMISSION on Museum Live Day and having a Print Fest!

A Great Day for Kids and Families

• See presses from the 1880s
• Get a slug from a Linotype, the 8th wonder of the world
• Type on an actual typewriter
• See “ancient” computers
• Print a name in metal type

And I will be there with my gelatin printmaking process. Come see what gelatin printing is all about. You will be amazed! And I will also have some prints for sale.

This video is about my online course, but the images and process is the same that I will be doing a the Print Fest. If it looks interesting to you, then I hope you stop by the Museum of Printing this Saturday, 10 to 4. It’s FREE!

I have made several small sketchbooks, that I can easily carry with me. They are only 16 pages long, so they are very easy to complete.

I love the ability to finish the book quite quickly. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and that makes me want to start the next book.

If I really don’t like a drawing, then I just glue a fresh piece of paper over the parts that I don’t like. So I don’t worry about ugly drawings or mistakes.

I am thinking that maybe I will bind some of the small books into a larger book. For now I am just having some fun drawing the every day like:

• breakfast
• tea pots
• pens and drawing tools
• farmers market
• skylines and
• scenes from my window

I did buy a new watercolor set and it is taking some getting used to. The paint is much richer than my grade school set that I had been using.

Happy creating!

I am pleased to invite you to join us at the Museum of Printing, Haverhill, MA.

• Date: October 14, 2017
• 9 AM to 5PM
• Full day gelatin printmaking workshop, ink on paper
• Details and to register go to Workshop Page

This is the first class that I have offered local and in person in quite a few years. It will be a great day of monoprinting on paper with the homemade gelatin plate. Most of the supplies will be provide, so this is a great way to try out the process.

We will use:

• water soluble ink
• paper
• gelatin and glycerin plate
• stencils
• stamping tools

Gelatin printmaking is a great way to get into printmaking without a press. Watch some videos on my YouTube channel.

Being a student in an online art class recently, got me thinking about what can be done to have the best experience from an online art class.

On the positive side, I experienced:

• drawing breakthroughs
• using watercolors and pens in new ways
• making with new drawing skills in my own way/voice
• moving beyond fears that stop me

But also I experienced:

• getting behind
• wanting more help
• feeling lost in a big group
• thinking my work was not good enough

Hey wait – this was suppose to be a fun art making experience!

I was able to noticed the things that were not working for me in the course and move beyond them and to embrace the lessons and information that did work for me.

I think this was a key decision. I could have quit or given up, because I was frustrated and had unmet expectations.

Then I realized that some of my own students probably experienced some of these same frustrations in my online printmaking courses. So I want to share some tips on getting the most from an online art course:

Tips on taking online ART course

1. Read the class information and supplies page to determine if the class is right for you.
2. Look at the supplies list and get what you might need.
3. Decide what your intention might be, fun, skill building, work, play, discovery….?
4. Get excited, set up a workspace.
5. When class begins, introduce yourself and “join” the others in the class.
6. Ask questions. If you have a question, then most likely someone else has the same question
7. Even if you have questions about the teaching platform, structure – ask questions.
8. If you “get behind,” reassess, and do what you can. Remember your excitement and reasons for signing up for the course. Contribute to the classroom community, if you can at this point. Look for something positive that you may have learned. It may not even have much to do with the course content.
9. Get to know your learning style. Are you…
   • Visual – learn with pictures, images and space
   • Auditory – like to learn through sound and listening
   • Verbal – learn with words, speech and writing
   • Physical – learn with hands, body and touch
10. Try to figure out the instructor’s teaching style and whether it matches your learning style. Do you want…
    • a coach – to guide you to develop and apply skills and knowledge
    • a professor – to lecture as an expert authority
    • a delegator – empower you to discover on your own and collaboratively
11. What if you think your work is not good enough? – Remember you are the student, you came to learn and you do not have to be “good.” You learn by making and experimenting. So as long as you are making work, it is good enough. If you can share and ask for help with work that is in progress, then you will grow tremendously.
12. What if you are not sure about your computer skills or the social media part of the course? Ask for help.

I hope this helps get you ready to take an online art class. The wonderful part of online art courses is that you can have a world wide community right from your home. You don’t have to pack up supplies and travel to a workshop, you can set up your workspace and play at anytime of the day!

If you would like to explore a printmaking process with me, then check out the current workshop schedule.

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