Print Play, Repeat

 Lately, I have been playing a lot with gelatin plate printing. I have had some moderate successes and some grand failures.  It is all a part of the learning process.  While I can follow directions,  I prefer to say "what if I......instead?"  One playful experiment leads to another. 

Here are a number of mildly successful pieces.

The idea is to get interesting papers that I can use in collage.  However if a print is 

truly a success, I may mount it onto a canvas as a one off print. 

Here are three that are great successes for what I was trying. I don't think they are

so great that I will mount them on canvas. It was all play. 

A floral stencil was used on each of these. I can see any of them being used as 

a focal point in a collage. 

What are you playing with in your art space?

Linking to Sunday in the Art Room

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Gelli Print Transfer

There has been a Gelli Plate in my stash for years.  I have played with it a lot, but not had a lot of success.   Many folks show lovely things they create with the plate.  Having seen these and some image transfers other folks have done has been a bit frustrating.  

Today I watched a YouTube video showing how one user does an inkjet printer transfer.  I had heard that this was impossible. Most transfers are done with glossy magazines or laser prints. 

After watching it,  I looked in my printer paper stash - because she said you need a specific brand of glossy business paper. None in my stash of course.   But there were some inkjet transparencies.  So I tried one - complete failure.   If at first.......

I found a variety pack of papers that came as a bonus  with purchase from HP. There was some glossy brochure paper in there.  Using the PDF I had created with three images (the one that failed on the transparency) it was time to print again.    This print was cut into three pieces to separate the images. 

First try - OMG!

Pretty darn good, I say. 

I do see that my Gelli plate is showing some wear, but the image transferred!

Next - eh, not as good.  I think paint choice matters also.

And last, yet a different image and a different paint. 

Oops too much paint - it needs to be a thin layer.  
I pulled it once -fail,  but that got a lot of the paint off.

Using a rubber tipped tool, I carved some lines in above and below.

Here is that pulled print.

Not perfect, but it certainly worked. 

Linking to Sunday in the Art Room

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

FFO Mishmash

This has been an interesting week.  Caregiving is not for the weak/timid soul.  It is a paradox of both rough and rewarding.   It also takes a lot of time.  Hence, I have nothing new to share.  But, I did find that Mom had kept an old drawing that I had forgotten doing.  The paper is showing some age - yellowing and brown spots.  It is signed "E B" - which means it was done years ago. ("E" for Eugene) 

Now here is a photo of me and a couple of other guys, backstage when I was doing a play.

The Play was "Anything Goes"  I was a passenger and these guys were crew on the ship.

And from travel, here is a photo I took in a museum in Mexico

Happy Friday

Linking to the Friday Face Off

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A New Stitched Artwork

For the first two weeks in January, a friend and I went on a cruise.  I had not been on a vacation of even a week since 2018, so I was overdue.  Part of my planning was to prepare some handwork to carry with me. Honestly, I don't know if that bag got packed or not.  I am certain that I didn't stitch a single stitch while I was on vacation. -And that was fine by me.  I rested, played and just generally enjoyed my break from being Mom's caregiver. 

So,  I had a prepared piece with everything I needed to work on it in a tote bag. 
I took that bag to Mom's and worked on doing all of the hand stitching.  I really enjoyed it. 

Better yet,  I got it all ready for the quilting phase.  I did that quilting on Friday and added a backing to it. It is now ready to be put on a canvas for hanging.   I thought that I had a canvas ready - but, no of course the one that is ready is the wrong size. 

For the photo, I just placed it over another piece that is mounted on canvas and happens to be the correct size. 

It appears a bit nore colorful in person.  I love it. 

I have made several of these in the past.  Those showed up in my Library Gallery Show

back in 2023.  Happily all of those sold.  

Now I have this new one and this one that is hanging in my bedroom for now. 

Perchance, I will have another show and sell these also.

I would certainly love to sell some of my artwork- why?  
I need room to make more!

Linking to 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Memories of Mexico - Friday Faces

Some of my readers know that I have spent some vacation times in Mexico.  The first visit was on a cruise many years ago.  One stop was in Cancun, where we took a cooking class excursion.  I have to say that it was so much fun doing this excursion.  I even have a photo showing me cooking. 

On another trip, where we actually stayed in a rental in Mexico, I had taken my pennywhistle

(a type of flute/whistle) and was playing it in the main square, mostly for myself. 

I was approached by two young ladies who were on vacation also.  They had been taking photos of each other.  They asked if they could have photos with me.  I said "Okay if you will take some with my camera also."  

Mariela and Gene

Dasy and Gene

(Dah-see)             

Apparently they thought I was something "special" there. Ha ha. Probably due to my craziness of playing the pennywhistle in public.  My post from 2013 about it is here

Gene at the Train Museum

Linking to the Friday Face Off

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Sunday in the Art Room

For Sunday in the Art Room, I am sharing some of my favorite creations. Some of them I still have but some of them were sold. 

After taking a watercolor class with Wayne Spradley, I did a few "foggy farm" scenes.  This is one of my favorites.

This little "beach" scene sold before I even had time to finish it.  But I did finish it before delivery. 

Blue Fall Reflections
This one started as "leftover paint" on watercolor paper. I put the paint on the paper and "smooshed it" with (I think) waxed paper.  When I pulled off the waxed paper I saw trees. 
It didn't take a lot to finish it. 

This was a project from a pattern (yes, I did change it!) 

I gave this one as a gift to a friend who was having a rough time. 

Transcend

This was painted after taking a class in abstract/non-representational painting. 

The intention was a fully non-representational painting.  But inspiration struck and I added the tulips. 

This hangs on my bedroom wall and I see it before I go to bed and when I get up. I love it.

Linking to 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

FaceOff AI self portraits

Just for fun,  I decided to take two photos of myself from my photo library and use the selfie creator on Nite Cafe.

For your information and to see how AI changed me (drastically)  here are the beginning images. 

At the time of these photos,  I was weaving LOTS of scarves to sell. I just modeled them myself as I didn't have a model handy. 

First I asked for abstract in the style of Picasso

This is what it did

I wasn't happy with it, so I asked for a portrait "IN THE STYLE OF Van Gogh"

This is what I got

It looks surprisingly like Van Gogh to me.  Like me? not so much

So I went back and did an edit on the Picasso

Here it is.

Strangely like the first one. LOL

Oh well...... I had fun playing with it. 

Linking to the Friday Face Off

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day.

  I hope you day is filled with love and happiness that extends through the years.

Embroidered Quilt Block

Painting by Gene Black

Confirmed, affirmed and verified

Referred, deferred or put aside

Disclosed in full, or in part

The secrets of the human heart

Cannot be analyzed or sampled

No protocol or test procedure run

Can ever under sky or sun

Explain the love in humankind

No forensic evidence you will find

Of what is in the soul or mind

So let us stay outside the box

And not place love

'neath chains and locks

Confirmed affirmed and verified?

No! In faith, love is justified.

Copyright 2004 by Gene Black

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Friday Face Off - Collage

I have been on a "collage kick" lately.  While I have made one collage with a face on it, I don't have a good photo of it.  But while just goofing around with some of the pieces,  I laid out this face. 

The background there is actually my sewing table. 
I did not make an actual collage of these pieces. I just put them back in the container of pieces to work with. 

Here are a couple of collages that I did finish.

Blue Moon

Created from piece cut from vintage magazines.

Pink Vase
Made with paper that I painted and pieces from vintage magazines with a bit of crayon added.

I hope you have a great Friday

Linking to The Friday Face Off.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Sunday in the Art Room

My latest artistic obsession is collage.  I have been playing with shapes and designs for years.  I have worked in paints

and in fabrics

in clay - yes I even made jewelry with clay and stamps

and even carving stamps

What do they all have in common?  The use of shape is vital to success with each of them. 

I have even woven fabric with shapes woven into the design.

So why did it take me so long to get into collage? 
Actually doing applique on a quilt is really a form of collage.  I just didn't realize it until I broke through my mental block on collage. 

I had even done an abstract collage from fabric in 2024 - I even called it collage.

Nicole asked that I share the four collage pieces that I showed on Friday again, so here they are.

I have two newer ones, but I am not sure they are as successful as the above collages.

Nevertheless,  here they are.

I think the painted backgrounds didn't have enough contrast from the collage papers. 
I may still go in and change these.

Here is where you can find the Classes from CreativeBug that got me started collaging this month.  That  is my affiliate link. If you use it to sign up, you will get a free month of Classes - all you can watch in that month.  The collage classes that I watched are: 

4 x 4 Studies: A Daily Practice  and Collage Homage: 15 Women Artists to Know.  These are both taught by Erin McCluskey Wheeler.  

Failure is not something I worry about.  I am sure that if I DON'T TRY,  I will fail.  But if I do try, I may succeed.  And if I don't succeed - well, that is okay too.  Remember that I used those failed paintings to cut up and create collage. 

If you are wondering about materials,  For the base layer, (substrate) I used mat board cutouts (free from a local framer)  OR Mixed media paper - relatively inexpensive.  My adhesive is cheap glue sticks that I bought on sale when school was starting.  (Elmers purple disappearing school glue.)  For collage material, you can use almost any paper that you can find. One artist suggested painting acrylic paint on paper bags, brown paper that comes as packaging material or even copy paper - yes even those bills you have paid an are ready to toss - paint them with opaque paint and you have collage paper. Some famous collage artists have used candy wrappers, junk mailings, and other found papers.  I just got a package with a wad of brown paper in it.  I cut it into sheets and ironed it to get most of the wrinkles out.  I will be painting them.  Oh yes, you can even use the cheap cheap cheap hobby paints like Apple Barrell, Folk Art or Americana.  You could use leftover latex wall paint.  You can use crayons or....gee I could go on for hours.  Use what you have or can get easily.  Just be creative. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.