It has been a good summer for small boat sailing, here in New England. There are a lot of factors that affect the decision to sail: the wind speed and direction the timing of the tides and for me whether my brothers are willing to drag the boat over the beach to the shore. Creating is like sailing. Some days are better than others, but even on a “bad” day I can find something good about it. I do the best I can given the conditions. Sometimes: It is hard to get started, but after I do start I find myself enjoying it The conditions are not ideal, like the studio is 90 degrees, so I print in s ..read more

I my Simplify – Gelatin Prints class, I teach a mock cyanotype technique. I love the mixture of black and cyan ink. I think it produces some nice rich impressions. Delicate weeds and intricate cut glass are good tools for this process. But today I made a few real cyanotype prints. I have been collecting inspiration online and have a list of approaches that I want to try. It does take some planning and preparation. I mixed the chemicals 24 hours earlier. Then I painted the mixture on to the papers Wait for them to dry in a darkroom Luckily, I had a bright sunny day. I started with few grass ..read more

I think time outside of the studio, feeds what is created in the studio. What is your experience? I often see shadows and leaves on my morning walks that I use as reference in my gelatin printmaking. I collect weeds and grasses to use as masking stencils too. Lately, I have been doing lots of line drawings of faces. Old photos have been the stimulus for some of these drawings. I have also been capturing new images of family members to use as reference. Even an extended vacation could inspire a new series or process. I just came back from Maine Media for a week long class, A Sense of Place ..read more

Nature has many gifts. We can simply look, listen, touch, smell and maybe even taste to receive the gifts. Today, my woods walk was filled with gifts: Baltimore Oriole Two Loons Bright Blue Jays Rain drops on the lake Yellow dandelions I have tried to draw in the woods and I just resist it. So today I took a few pictures and brought them back to the studio. I abstracted the dandelion with a few sketches and then made a foam stamp. How could you bring the gifts of nature back to your studio? I always have a collection of delicate weeds and grasses for gelatin printmaking. If you like this ..read more

I just got back from a week at Maine Media. Oh boy did I need to get away. And I am glad to be back in the studio with renewed energy and ideas. I have joined in on some online courses this year and they have been stimulating too. But working in person with instructors and fellow artists offers another energy. The class was “A Sense of Place” with Isobel Lewis. We explored Rockport Harbor on the first day and did several drawings to capture the feel and essence. Luckily it was a sunny spring day. We spent the week making marks and working the papers into several different book forms. The bo ..read more

It is easy to make textured and patterned pieces of gelatin plate printed paper. This is a great way to get started with gelatin printmaking. You can learn a lot about: mark making tools kinds of marks that are possible what happens when you layer These patterned papers can be used for collage or as foundations for a “finished” print. In the class, Simplify, we use simple stencils like threads, circles and weeds to learn what is possible with ink and the gelatin plate. By working in a dark blue-black color scheme, we can easily layer impressions without the need to consider the color mixi ..read more

Sometimes, I get overwhelmed with ideas and then I can’t choose one to play with. Usually, I go for a walk to get some clarity. Then when I get back to the studio I have a 1-2-3 to do list. I like to have just three items on the list, that way I don’t get overwhelmed by a long list. When I finish the three activities, then I can make another list of 3. I think this helps to create a sense of accomplishment. This idea of simplifying can be applied to gelatin printmaking too. I will often: Limit my color palette to cyan and black – classic printmaking colors Use just 3 to 5 stencils of differ ..read more

Today, I had the urge to make a brown bag book. I share with you my process so you can make some too. First I took the bag apart, so it was one flat sheet. Then I ironed out the wrinkles Painted white gesso over the store advertising Added some bold black india ink marks Cut into long 10″ strips (final size 6″ x 9″) The cut the long 10″ strip into 6″ x 9″ sheets Fold each in half and stack inside each other to make a single signature Clip together and punch 3 holes in the spine Follow video instructions to sew together A couple of extra tips: It is ok if the pages are not perfectly th ..read more

Often I like to know how things are going to play out. How the impression will print How the marks will work together How the colors will combine But this wanting to know ahead of time can stifle creative exploration. So I try to remind myself to: “Let go and see what happens. It is only a piece of paper.” When I can suspend the need to know and embrace the attitude of play, then new ideas often show up. It can take some time and warm up exercises to move beyond the need to know. That is one reason that I love the gelatin printmaking process. It is easy to grab: a couple of stencils sta ..read more

You can make interesting marks with simple tools. Enjoy this quick video.   In this online class we will layer marks to reveal a visual story. Read all the details on the workshop page. The suggested supplies: Gelatin plate – FREE recipe here Speedball water based ink brayer paper of your choice – I like 90 lb drawing paper 12″ x 18″ Rice paper on a roll or 12″ x 18″ Tracing paper on a roll or 12″ x 18″ I like these sizes and papers because I am making a long landscape shaped book, but you could do the techniques at any size. So use what you have One large sheet of sturdy printmaking pa ..read more