From Collage to Mono-Print

This month at The Embroiders Guild we were learning how to make a design for textiles using collage. Artist Helen Jones encouraged us to mix images, scale and colour to make an interesting composition.  I used some printed papers, photographs, paint charts and magazine images to make this collage.

The next stage was to trace and simplify the design before transferring it to fabric. I decided to use the collage for a multi layered Gelli® mono-print design on paper first.

I took several photocopies onto copy paper and also photocopied the design onto the actual cartridge paper I was going to be using for the print. Remember your print will be the mirror image of your design. Flip it on the photocopier if it is important that the image comes out the same way as the collage (if you are using text for example).

I cut some stencils out of my copies so I would be able to isolate sections of the print in different colours.

I used a Gelli® plate bigger than my final print size. I used masking tape to mark out where I would place my paper each time to ensure the layers would line up. I placed a copy under the plate to give me an idea of where I wanted to place each paint colour.

First up I made some backgrounds by rolling on acrylic paint and then scraping some off again with a rag. Here you can see the plate inked up and then the cartridge paper paced on top to pull the print (remember I have a copy of the image on top for later).

Here is the first background layer.

More layers were built up with rollers and commercial stencils.

Where I wanted a only specific shape to be coloured I placed a paper stencil on top to mask areas I didn't want to print. To save paint you only need to ink up the area that will be uncovered - I used the copy underneath as a guide for where to put the paint.

Here are the prints once all the different layers have been printed.

To make the black outlines I used block ink on a glass sheet; the Gelli® plate is too soft for this part when using paper, however it does work with fabric. I cut a generous mask to protect the background print from accidental black marks. The outlines were drawn from the back with a biro pen. Unfortunately my alignment with the print wasn't great - something else to fix in the next attempt!