Gouache and Ink Resist Part 1

I'm trying out this gouache and ink resist technique that was shown on DMTV recently. These prints are really difficult to photograph in this dull Perth weather, they have much more colour in real life. In the tutorial on DMTV Linda uses water soluble gouache with waterproof Indian ink. As usual with every new technique I have 2 questions:

1) What other materials would work?
2) Can I do this on fabric?

I mostly followed the instructions for these first prints to see how the technique worked. I did however try both Indian ink and acrylic ink, both of which produced good results. I think I prefer the acrylic ink as it seems easier to remove from the print in the last stage (you'll have to watch the tutorial on DMTV!) than the Indian ink. It's also cheaper, easier to obtain and comes in colours other than black.

Today I have been working on trying out different ideas including having a colourful acrylic background before the gouache is applied; I discovered this technique accidentally by using some scrap brush cleaning paper which already had paint on it (above).  I've also tried coloured inks, fluid acrylics and fabric. They are all drying right now ready to be rinsed tomorrow to reveal their patterns.

Breaking the Rules in Canvas Work

Today at Innovative Stitchers we were trying out canvas embroidery in complimentary colours. Our group, being the black sheep of the Embroiders Guild, were seeking to break all the rules. We added paper, metal washers and old computer parts, even glue!! I like the ease of stitching into a grid but not the look of the grid itself....perhaps if it could be melted??? Watch this space!

New Life, Old Cloth

Today I attended a workshop called "Stitching New Life into Old Cloth" with artist Wendy Lugg who currently has an exhibition at Wanneroo Gallery. Wendy showed us many ways to transform old worn-out fabrics into new items, many of the items were from her collection of historic Japanese textiles. Then it was our turn to grab our scraps and bring them to life in a new project. This piece will eventually be a small bag. Check back soon to see if I actually get around to finishing it!

Gelli® Quilt Squares Kit

My first post is up at the Gelli Arts® blog. Click the link to check it out and don't forget to use the discount code HelenO if you're ordering supplies.

Tracings on Gelli®

******WARNING - some of these techniques may permanently stain your Gelli® plate ******

This week on the Gelli Arts® blog Birgit was showing how to use your Gelli® to make tracings and prints. I though I must have a go at that! Here's her video:

I tried Copic markers and Sharpie markers. Both worked well.

Looking around the art room I wondered what else would work. I was a little worried about ruining my Gelli® but not worried enough to stop me trying everything anyway!!!

Posca paint pens worked well as I expected they would because they are filled with acrylic paint.

I used Inktense and Neocolour water-soluble sticks either dipped into water or used on a damp Gelli®.

Water-soluble graphite worked in a similar way but was difficult to remove from the plate afterwards.

Oil pastels didn't give a great result and stuck to the plate, however Shiva oil sticks printed nicely.

Metallic green in the background is Shiva stick.

I loved the soft effect from pan pastels but they were very difficult to remove from the plate afterwards. I managed to get several prints from the one application. I scrubbed them off with acetone nail polish remover in the end, my Gellli® looked OK but I don't know if any long term damage has been done to it.

I used fine line applicator bottles  to trace over the image with fluid acrylics, it worked well but took ages to dry.

For some of the prints I used metallic fluid acrylics instead of ordinary acrylics to lift the paint for a more textured effect.

I tried mixing and matching various materials on the one print.

And of course I had to try it out on fabric which gave a more subtle print and was a bit more unpredictable. You definitely need to use a little more paint on the fabric ones.

A New Piece Begins...

Today I finally started a piece that has been in my head several months. The experiments are complete and the fabrics have been "measured" out for the final work. I say "measured" because you know that measuring is really not my strong point! Luckily this piece will be heavily distressed with a heat gun which will shrink and distort it anyway so any less-than-straight edges (and there are many of them!) will not show. Another advantage of distressing the fabric is that any mistakes in the stitching will also be very difficult to spot. If this piece sells I have planned to donate the proceeds to charity. I can't tell you which charity yet because that will give away too much information about the design and spoil the surprise.

Mono-Print Lines and Negative Space

I've been trying out mono-print to fill negative shapes with lines (just like yesterday's post below). I love the grungy graphic look that mono print gives. To help me get the writing to turn out the correct way I printed my script out from my computer in mirror image and laid it over the top of my printing paper before drawing over it with a biro. If you wanted handwriting you could write on thin paper or tracing paper and then flip it over and draw from the reverse.