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| Carol's "Biohazard" print |
My friend Carol demanded that I come to her house to MAKE gelatin monprints. This is what I learned....
1. This is NOT scary.
1. This is NOT scary.
2. This is NOT difficult.
3. This is WAAAAY fun.
4. This can be done in your own home with humans of all ages.
5. Do it!...and send me pictures.
Materials Needed
-pan(s) of prepared gelatin
-ink brayer(s) and flat pan to roll paint
-ink brayer(s) and flat pan to roll paint
-acrylic paints
-paintbrushes to paint designs on gelatin surface if you wish
-paintbrushes to paint designs on gelatin surface if you wish
-spray bottle with water (lightly mist gelatin and blot with paper to clean the printing surface occasionally)
-string, lace, leaves, twigs, forms or shapes cut out of cardstock, chipboard shapes or letters, etc.
-paper of any kind...we used sketch and rice papers, and some newsprint as well
Gelatin Recipe
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| This will fill one 9" x 11" pan. |
I picked this up from the web...
A design is painted onto an unmarked plate. Paper is laid on top and pressure applied. It usually produces one strong and one weak impression.
A design is painted onto an unmarked plate. Paper is laid on top and pressure applied. It usually produces one strong and one weak impression.
The "unmarked plate" for this project is a pan of knox gelatin that has set firmly in the fridge.
Roll some acrylic paint on to your brayer and then roll the bayer on to the gelatin for a nice even coat.
Lay some cut out card stock shapes, string, lace, or other items on top of the painted gelatin.
Lay a piece of paper on top and rub thoroughly with a gentle pressure.
Remove paper and you have a monprint! This one is very light in color, but the excitement happens when you start layering more monoprinted images upon one another.
Now my favorite part, printing the ghost image. Remove the cardstock or other items from the gelatin plate very gently so you don't smear the remaining paint or rip the gelatin. Lay another piece of paper on top of what's left on the gelatin, rub, remove, and you have what's called the ghost image. I LOVE ghost images the most.
The ghost is a little hard to see with this lighter ink, but you get the general idea.
Here are some photos of the process and finished prints that my friend Carol and I made in several hours. Remember, the key is LAYERING. Do a monoprint on the ghost of another image you've already printed, print ghosts on monprints or on other ghosts using different colors. The possibilities (and fun) are endless!
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| Monoprint |
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| Ghost Print |
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| Black paint on gelatin, red circles made by dipping an acrylic lid in red paint and dotting on the black here and there, card stock "negative" laid on top of that. Now, I just need to lay a piece of blank paper on top, rub, and I'll have a monoprint! |
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| Some of Carol's FAB creations. See the effect of layering? Mmmmmm |
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| Get jiggy with your paint on your brayer tray! |
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| Our prints on the clothesline against a blue TX sky. |
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| Ready to lay paper on top and rub. Notice the circles have paint on them from prior use. The paint on the circles is dried. The print will have 3 white spots where the circles are laid. |
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| 4 hours FLEW by...and we could have kept going |
Use them in collage, trim and frame them, add them to notecards or ATC's (artist trading cards), etc.
