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 :

Gelli Printmaking Kit

The "Gelli" plate

which I used

Instagram video

of the workshop

Micaela Seidel ran the 

Gelli monoprint workshop

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

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:

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 combined the Gelli print above, with one of my drawings, in a couple of online AI programs:

• Deep Art
• Deep Dream Generator  (Deep Dream Generator on Instagram)

The results were pretty similar

Previously I have experimented with my drawings and AI 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"

(On Instagram)

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

YouTube

about Gelli monoprinting

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:

Gelli Arts® blog

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:

• Quick Links to Gelatin Printing
• 6 Gelatin Print Tips

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.