GELATIN PRINTING and MONOTYPES with Jacquard, Lumiere, and other water based paints: 

Inspiration:

Dale Chihully drawings

Google "gelatine Monoprints" and click on images button. 

http://harborview-arts.com/kathleen_garner/ 

http://www.peggybraun.com/     

Book Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate

Gelatin Formula  :  Ratios and general math

• 2 ½ T of gelatine per cup of water
• ¼ -1/2 inch depth  
• 1 c  gelatine mixture = 6x8 inches
• 3 cups gelatine mixture = 11x14 0r 12x12 

1. Ideally made on a rigid Plexiglas sheet with a plastacine/clay dam wall.  
2. May be cooked over medium heat with very gentle stirring to avoid bubble. Skim. Cool slightly. Clean off bubbles with strips of paper.  
3. Gel several hours. (cool and firm to touch)  
4. Remove dam and air dry 1-4 hours. 
5. DO NOT DISPOSE OF IN A DRAIN. 
6. Keeps 2-3 days or longer in fridge. A few drop of bleach in the mixture will retard mold growth.  
7. Clean with newspaper of lightly damp sponge . 

SUPPLIES:

• Water based textile Paints and inks, optional extender and retarder.
• Plastacine or tray to hold gelatine mix. 
• Freezer paper and masking tape or  painting palette (roll ink evenly onto this, then brayer onto gelatine).
• Paper towels, or rags.
• Stencil plastic or old ex-ray sheet (for etching).
• Brayer – to smoothly apply plaint to pallet and transfer to gelatine plate.
• Ex-acto knife or wood cut or lino knives (for carving gelatine.)
• Texture plate (Shiva).
• Found objects with texture – laces, feathers, corrugated cardboard, fun foam shapes, Foam or rubber stamps, string, leaves.
• Newspaper.
• Assortment of brushes.
• Baren (to gently press paper or cloth onto gelatine surface).
• Sponges.
• Cookie cutters.  
  

PRINTING NOTES

1. Keep your tools clean and dry.
2. Best if each colour has its own tools(s).
3. Make second or ghost second prints from an initial inking.  

ADDITIVE Techniques (ways to apply paint and then print onto cloth)

• Finger paint
• Use brush creatively to, splat, roll, draw, use end of brush to draw in fine line as it lifts or pushes aside paint.
• Roll paint onto gelatine with a brayer, lay down cloth, draw from back.
• Cut or tear paper stencil shapes, lay on gelatine to paint over or through.
• Plastic quilt stencil as a resist over paint  OR paint through. 
• Use fun foam to print shapes onto the gelatine.
• Serrated tool to remove paint and create texture. 
• Found objects and stencil to print or create negative shapes.
• Apply overlapping or blending Ombre colour  
• Paint on multiple colour in one layer printing.
• Multiple  Layers,  Multiple colours (paint or print  on  to build a rich complex  surface – experiment with brush marks) .
• Marbling (comb design).  
  

SUBTRACTIVE paint gelatine first then

1. Stamp to remove paint, try using a Shiva texture plate.
2. Rag to remove paint.
3. Found objects to remove paint.
4. Lift some off with rag, apply different colour in that area, continue until you like the surface then print.
5. Roll on paint  for background or negative space.
6. Remove a positive, distinct shape.
7. Paint in with other colour.
8. Print.

(if using  clear Plexiglas as a base, a master design can be placed under  the entire gelatine   sheet  and “traced”.)

1. Use  lino or wood cut tools, or ex-acto knife to carve out line to outline or draw shape shapes. 
2. Apply ink to different positive and negative parts with different colour of inks.
3. For superfine detail, use a pin to etch a detail, then push ink into sheet plastic, wipe surface clean and print onto Gelatine.
4. Then print details onto cloth.

OVERPRINTING

1. One colour at a time apply and wipe out  ink from non print areas.
2. Start with you lightest colour.  
   

SHAPING

1. Cut out shapes from the gelatine, like a giant stamp, and remove excess gelatine. Also do a reduction method, cutting our successive areas that you do not want to print. 
2. Use a cookie cutter to cut out and remove shapes.
3. Paint first then cut apart.