Gelatin Prints

Last week, I made eight gelatin plates to teach printmaking to middle school kids.  My co-worker and I combined classes to make a total of 41 kids from 5th -8th grade.  Here are the beautiful results.

 This is so simple to do, anyone with a bit of artist in their heart can do this at home with a few simple supplies.  To make the plates you need the following ingredients:  8 packets of unflavored gelatin mixed with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.  Add 3/4 cup glycerine (I found it in the hair products section of Walgreen's for just a few dollars) and 1 1/2 cups rubbing alcohol.  Stir well and carefully pour into a glass casserole dish.  I let mine set-up overnight in a cool place.  It does not need refrigeration and will last pretty much forever, I think.  When we were done with our printing I took the plates home, microwaved them for about three minutes and re-poured them into the casserole.  They set-up and are ready for use in my next class.

 I used Speedball water-soluble printing ink to print on the plates.  I applied the ink with a soft rubber brayer.  These can both be purchased at an art supply store or on-line.  We used a soft newsprint to print on.  I gathered plant material that will lie rather flat on the plate, twigs, leaves, etc.  Objects with too much dimensionality will gouge your plate and make printing difficult.  We arranged our material on the plates and laid our paper over the top and pressed gently.  We then removed the paper and the plant material and laid  another paper over the top of the gelatin plate.  This paper captured the "ghost" image of the plant material in near photographic detail. The kids had so much fun, as did I (teacher example below).  I let the prints dry overnight.  The plates and brayers clean up with soap and water.

All About Me

Earlier this year, I was privileged to participate in the Group Show, "Visionary" by RAW artists.  It was a wonderful event.  One of the "perks" was a professional photo shoot and a professional video interview.  Here is my video.  If you had any questions about me or my work, here is the answer.  Thank you to RAW artist and to the videographer,  Paul Collett (www.squareknotproductions.com).

A New Fiscal Year

I love my birthday, and as I get older I love it even more.  It's so much better than the alternative!  This birthday was even more wonderful, as my two lovely teenagers REMEMBERED it.  Woohoo!  I have hope that they actually may become sensitive young men.  So here's to another year, and if you like to figure out puzzles, I am 25 in the Looking Glass World.  Rock on my Aries' friends!

Flowers and the best chocolates in the world (Moonstruck made right here in Portland) from my favorite teenage boys earlier this week to celebrate another year in the life!