More Vegetable Prints with a Gelatin Plate

Carrots

Turnips

Carrots

Gelatin Prints of Onions

To make the onion prints, I sliced the onions in half down the middle, including the leaves.

The one above is kind of funky - the texture of the paper towel I used to remove excess paint really shows!

I used both medium sized onions and some very small onions. The two prints above are about 18 x 12", the one below is only about 12 x 8"

The brush strokes really show on this print.

Gelatin Plate Prints of Asparagus

I worked with some other vegetables, as well.

I like the asparagus, I only wish I had longer stalks, but this was what I could find at Farmer's Market.

Gelatin Plate Prints with Beets

I made quite a few prints using beets I bought at Farmer's Market recently.
I arranged the beets over a gelatin plate (as explained in my previous post).

Here are some of the prints!

I do plan to group these prints in some way.
Below are some of the groupings pinned to my design wall.

I am happy with my results!

Making Vegetable Prints with a Gelatin Plate

Gelatin Plate Printing
It has been a busy summer and I have not spent much time in the studio.
I thought I would do some gelatin plate prints using some of the vegetables from a recent trip to Farmer's Market. Above, you can see the gelatin plate after it has been used and is starting to break down a bit.

I use 2 rounded tablespoons of gelatin to one cup of water to make my gelatin plate.
Heat until fully dissolved, then pour onto the mold and as it cools it will set up.
I use Pebeo Setacolor Transparent fabric paints. I like to use a lot of different colors and brush these on the plate to blend them.

Next step is to arrange the items you want to print with over the painted gelatin plate.
I really like making prints from plants - my favorite.

For this group, I used paper towels to gently remove the paint around the beets. I also pressed gently on the beets, leaves and stems to make a good imprint of the texture in the paint.

After the beets have been removed - I will lay my fabric over the gelatin plate, rubbing to transfer the image from the plate onto my fabric.

FingerPainting on Fabric in Quilting Arts Magazine

I am delighted to announce the publication of my technique for creating fingerpainted fabric.
It is possible using monoprinting techniques on a smooth surface.
Gelatin plate, plastic sheeting, glass or plexi-glass are all useful for monoprinting.
The article is included in the latest (August / September 2011) issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

Here are the pages of the article. Sorry -not the best images, but you get the idea!

Mail Art Project Week Forty Three

Shy Girl

Hand dyed and hand painted cotton, fused, machine stitched.

This week's quote:
"I've always wanted to be somebody,
but I see now I should have been more specific."
-Lily Tomlin-

Extra postcards are going out to Francie in Vallejo, CA and Carol in Rosemount, MN.

Whittier

Until 2000, the Prince William Sound village of Whittier could only be reached by boat or railroad train. The 2 1/2 mile railroad tunnel through the mountain was modified to share automobile traffic with train traffic. It is a single lane and so vehicles must wait at either end for their turn to use the tunnel. There is a $12 toll. We waited about 30 minutes for the chance to drive the tunnel.

It takes about 6 minutes to drive the full length of the tunnel and I must admit I found it kind of creepy - it felt very confined. As we were driving through - I remembered we had just heard there had been an earthquake in nearby Anchorage earlier in the day. Whittier used to be a military base - and they built several large buildings for their operation.





The building (below) is the abandoned military building. This is sort of creepy, also. The windows are mostly broken and it has been vandalized. It is kind of a blight on a beautiful landscape.




This is a pretty little town, in spite of the abandoned military base. It seemed to be bustling with activity while we were there.

Portage Glacier

Portage Glacier, located just a few miles off the Seward Highway was a worthwhile side trip.
Such a beautiful little lake.
We loved seeing the "icebergs" floating in the lake!
There is a very nice Visitor Center.

We had the opportunity to view the lake from several vantage points, since we decided to go to Whittier - just a few more miles further. The highway passes around the lake.

Love that blue glacier water!

Kachemak Bay

Mount Redoubt (above), as seen across Kachemak Bay from Homer, and (below), more views of the bay as we left Homer - heading for Anchorage.
A last look at the community of Homer.