Okay, this is the first print I pulled off a new gelatin plate that I had mixed up, let set, covered with tin foil, and set in the fridge overnight. I used acrylic inks instead of the fluid acrylics I used on the others. The inks worked fine, but the gelatin plate was a disaster. When I removed the tin foil, it had stuck in one place to the gel, but didn't pull any off, so that was ok. The underside of the foil, however, was covered in condensation, which had dripped onto the gel. I dried it off with a paper towel and rolled the ink onto the plate, placed my objects, and pulled a print onto my speedball printmaking paper.
This print pulled off fine, and I like the colors and patterns, etc. I was tickled with how well the inks worked.
So I quickly pulled a ghost image. Not so tickled with the image, but it can still be used. By the way, I'm playing and experimenting, so I quickly cut the masks out myself. Didn't worry about making them perfect. :o
I tried different colors and layed a large bandage gauze across the left side for texture. Unfortunately, the gel didn't pick it up and I had a large blank white space on the print, so I re-inked that side of the plate, added some masks, and re-printed. I also used a piece of lace in the corner.
I like this one okay. But now the gel plate, despite my wiping it off between prints was getting really tacky. A thin layer of gel pulled off in spots onto the print.
I tried thalo green and metallic copper on this one with a mask and some eyelash yarn. I was so disgusted with the tacky gelatin that I didn't really try on this one, and when I pulled it up, the gelatin just started coming apart on me, and I was done with it. Threw it out the door! :/
I was still wanting to play, so I rolled inks directly onto the metal cookie sheet and pulled a print. I wouldn't want to make a lot of these, but it'll make a good background for something, and I see interesting shapes in it, so I'll keep it in my stash.
As for the gelatin printmaking, I'm not giving up. I figured out that the condensation from the foil added water to the gelatin, causing it to weaken and get tacky, so I know not to do that again! :o I didn't cover the plate I made before this one and it did fine for 2-3 days, although I overmixed my paints and the prints turned out a little muddy and blah. I'm going to make another gelatin plate and print another layer on top of some of my first ones for more interest. We'll see how that turns out!
Boo boos are great for learning and remembering what you learn! Don't be afraid to try! :)
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