Morning:
Afternoon:
Evening:
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Monday, 28 May 2018
May 28, 2018
Drawn at Gary's house in Tijeras, New Mexico:
Altered in Google's Deep Dream Generator,
and further tweaked in XnView
Wooden pencil case housing
Josh made this wooden pencil case housing for me on the lathe at QueLab hackerspace. I just slip a store-bought lead holder inside, and it stays snug. The extra thickness around the pencil makes a huge difference, as I can control the pencil better.
I still hold the pencil the same way I would for writing, but the thicker pencil casing throws a lot of the movement into my shoulder, allowing me to draw longer lines. As it is round, I can still twist the pencil tip a bit with my fingers, as I push and pull the pencil at the same time, with my shoulder.
Lead holders always break on me, and I can push them out of the pencil case holder when that happens (and put in another lead holder). With the custom made thicker pencils, like I had in the past, I'd have to throw away the whole pencil when something goes wrong.
Saturday, 26 May 2018
Gelli Printing Workshop
On Saturday, May 26, 2018, I attended the Gelli Monotype Workshop at Remarque/New Grounds Print Workshop in Albuquerque, directed by Micaela Seidel :
My main interest was to see if I could draw on the Gelli plate, and did so with a soft Q-Tip, after the ink was rolled onto the Gelli plate:
I combined the Gelli print above, with one of my drawings, in a couple of online AI programs:
Books:
Gelli Plate Printing: Mixed Media Monoprinting without a Press - Joan Bess
Gelli Printing: Printing Without a Press on Paper and Fabric - Suzanne McNeill
Sources and Links:
Gelatin Printing Enthusiasts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gelatinprintingenthusiasts/ubtractive
Linda Germain Blog - Lots of great info including FREE Video on how to make your own gelatin plate:
The "Gelli" plate
which I used
Applying ink to the Gelli plate
Rolling the ink on the Gelli plate
Laying paper over inked plate,
and printing by hand pressure
Voila!
Later they all added stencils and masks, string and stamps, to create a whole variety of printmaking effects:
Applying Tyvek stencils and masks
Inked with Akua inks,
and drawn into
Eventually I fashioned a drawing instrument,
with a Q-Tip and a drinking straw
I pulled away some ink before printing,
either with the roller or dabbing it up with a towel,
and added a variety of grays to the large areas
Drawn with a Q-Tip
taped to the end of a pencil
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAMS
I altered this drawing
on DeepArt, an online AI program,
using the above Gelli print as the "style"
I then altered this drawing,
with Deep Dream Generator, the Google AI program,
using the same Gelli print above as a "style"
More depth
Drawn with just the end of a drinking straw
My print pile
A master printer at work
Joy printing
A wide variety of colorful prints,
from all the participants in the workshop
Micaela Seidel's print
using string and other items,
achieving a lot of variations of light values
RESOURCES
Books:
Gelli Plate Printing: Mixed Media Monoprinting without a Press - Joan Bess
Gelli Printing: Printing Without a Press on Paper and Fabric - Suzanne McNeill
Sources and Links:
Gelatin Printing Enthusiasts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gelatinprintingenthusiasts/ubtractive
Gelli Print Challenge: Save the Ugly Print ( Rachel-Juanita Bellamy) 14 minute video (keep adding layers)
Linda Germain Blog - Lots of great info including FREE Video on how to make your own gelatin plate:
CONCLUSION
The Gelli printing process was fast and satisfying, as one could create a whole pile of colorful prints in an afternoon, without using a press.
I wanted to make marks, and draw on the Gelli plates. I could not do that with a pencil or any hard stylus, but the Q-Tip worked just fine. Plus, I always prefer to take paint away, rather than put it on, so drawing with a Q-Tip aligns with my temperament.
I wondered if one could coat a Canon scanner with a thin coat of gelatin, and take it to figure drawing. During the breaks, one might plug in, and scan the drawing into the computer. The Akua inks that we used, (the instructor preferred Open Golden Acrylics), do not dry until pressed on the paper; therefore one can draw into them during a 3 hour long pose.
If not, one could always take a photo between breaks, perhaps on a copy stand.