Paper and Fiber Journal

 

Here's something new. A journal I made for my friend Elizabeth's birthday. It has a mixture of papers and fibers and intereresting inbetween folios.

As I was making this, I thought that the various interesting pages could be cut and used on the more sturdy watercolor and mixed media papers. It is like a kit where you can use various elements already there!

I want to make one like this for myself, but I just completed another journal which I'll share later.

Happy bookbinding and art journaling!

Printmaking with Natural Materials and Open Acrylics

 

After ordering some Golden OPEN acrylics, I had a fun session testing them out.

Materials

3” square mini gel plate

The end of an orange

Leaves

Flower blossoms with stems

Golden OPEN acrylics

Mixed media papers—7” x 10” and 9” x 12”

Previously I had used craft, heavy bodied, fluid, and high flow acrylic paints. But the consistency of the OPEN acrylics seems very well suited for gel printing. You don’t need to use a lot of paint, especially on the little plate.

 

I made many square grids on the papers. Once I got the hang of it, I was happy to see I could make some ghost prints. As the flower blossoms absorbed more paint, they created lovely imprints and outlines.

I live in a humid city, made more so with the recent rains. The OPEN properties keep the acrylic paints from drying so quickly and you have more time to set up your prints.

Fun with Transparencies

The United States of Flowers

It started with flower embroidered blouse I picked to wear today, the 4th of July. Took a photo of it and printed on a transparency. Then used a glue stick to adhere it to a flag graphic printed on plain paper. Looked cool!

Waimanalo beach and Dog's Bay beach

I didn't want to waste the rest of the paper so on the plain paper and the transparency I found two of my favorite photos of two of my favorite places: Waimanalo beach on Oahu and Dog's Bay beach in Ireland. Love the combination! In this version the Irish beach is reversed because I didn't flip it before printing on the transparency. Tip: don't put the glue in a light area where it can leave a residue. Oh, well! It's art, not perfection.

Fabric Journal Cover

 

Over the weekend, I was directly inspired by Mary Beth Shaw’s video about making a fabric covered art journal.

Using a large Strathmore hardcover watercolor journal already started and entitled “The Blues,” I went through my fabric stash. I have three kinds: textured fabric already pressed into paint, old clothing I’ve cut up and upcycled, and remnants from fabric stores. My finished cover has some of all.

Instead of using the adhesive Mary Beth did, I used Liquitex Fabric Medium I’ve had for ages. Some of the non-cotton fiber pieces with paint were a bit difficult to glue down but they did stay.

This is such a fun project and a great way to use up bits and pieces. Once it’s dry, the cover feels great. This technique could lend itself to all kinds of commercial and handmade journals, as well.

Printmaking, Oh Printmaking

 

Seems like every weekend I’ve been printmaking and creating piles of prints. There is the good, the not so good, and the downright ugly. Some need more work. Some might like gel pens or colored pencils on them. Some that I use to clean the plate with are almost as interesting as the ones I carefully compose.

Printmaking is a lot work before and after. Prep work to get papers ready, a space cleared, paints selected, a work surface to work on, a place to put all the prints you finish. Then, it takes quite a while to clean your tools—stencils, masks, palette knives, bone folders. It’s been a time-saver to wear gloves!

 

Experimenting with different papers, as usual. Computer paper, card stock, various types of greeting cards, watercolor paper, mixed-media paper, printmaking paper. You need a lot of paper. Printmaking paper is so dreamy that I’d like to make an entire journal with prints from it. I have some on hand in both tan and light blue and could begin using the folios for printing and only bind it as a book when all the pages are done.

Mixed media paper is quite good also. Shelley Rhodes great tip of carefully snipping papers from coil books has been helpful but I also rip it out when I need More Paper NOW! Interestingly, the snipped or ripped pages both readily return to the book. I like that some brands feature a front cover that is as sturdy as the back.

Some artists don’t completely clean the paint off their plate before changing colors and actually like the gungy remains. I tried doing that with these three prints. You can see some yellow ochre paint coming through earlier prints. At first, I didn’t quite like it but have come around to see the beauty in its messy imperfections.

 

 

Drying Area for Gel Prints

I have doing lots of printmaking lately. There are so many inspirational videos from the various commercial gel plate brands and their artists. But what I haven’t seen much of is where to put prints when they are wet.

From the first time I used gelatin up to now, the room I was working in was always full of prints drying wherever there was a surface—couches, chairs, folding card tables, the floor! There had to be a better way since now I don’t have space in the living room because my work computer is set up there. My friend Nancy and I discussed various options and I set about trying one. She suggested rigging a rope from wall to wall and using clips.

I had lots of frame wire on hand and with a quick trip to the grocery store had some light weight wood clothes pins. On the walls, I screwed in medium hooks. On the wire, I made a loop at each end. I spaced out the clothespins with some wood beads to give the prints space.

It turned out pretty good. I like that it is portable and I can take it down.