It's all about the texture!

I'm always very vocal in my playshops, never expecting anyone to actually listen to me.  This past weekend's playshop was the exception to my expectations!

When I demoed the use of texture plates (and the students subsequently made their own), I made it clear that they were to use my texture plates (15 of them) to the max, and ensure they were beautifully painted at the end of the weekend.  Look at their response to my instructions:

Gears

Numbers

Trellis

Dotty

Dots and Grids

Grids

Crackle

Grids 2

Catalyst

Hoops

Roadmap

Lace

Cobblestone

Aren't they gorgeous?  Don't you think those colour schemes look planned?  While some of them need more layers, many are frame-ready right now.  Tell me your favourite in the comments below and we'll see if one or more of them meets your criteria for framing!

One of the most frequent queries this past Sunday was 'What do I do with my texture plate?  Parts of it aren't printing.'  Helpful Hint for texture plates:  When your plate is completely dry (about 24 hours), hold it at eye level to view any 'sticky-uppies'.  Lightly sand these to make the plate as level as possible, yet still retaining the gorgeous texture.

Oh, wait - I've not done a tutorial on these yet...stay tuned next week for that, so you have some idea of what I mean!

 

Not so Mellow

It's been some time in the works, but the next Rainbow Series book has been completed.

Not So Mellow     Altered children's board book     © Win Dinn 

First spread - my love of Vincent van Gogh's work takes over

A nod to Degas' delightful dancers

Rossetti & Klimt

Angels...in just the perfect place

Tiffany stained glass windows, filled with yellow light

van Gogh meets cocktail hour

The sun motif ties the pages together, along with an eclectic collection of quotes about the colour yellow. And because I cannot seem to tone down my colour, the Not So Mellow (yellow) seems the perfect choice for a title.

Some Helpful Hints when altering childrens' board books:

• Sand the pages thoroughly
• use masking tape between the pages
• gesso tape and boards before you begin
• dust each page with rice flour when completed to keep them from sticking together (that plastic acrylic paint is the dickens for stick-to-itivness!

Above all, have fun!

This week in the studio...

... I've spent a great deal of time working on a house wrap stencil (the wrap is actually  fibreweb by Typar).

I spotted the design on the bottom of a plastic tray for plants from the greenhouse...I stole it from long-suffering John, of course.  He knows that nothing is safe from my thievery if it's patterned, and knows enough to lock away any similar items when he thinks he'll need it later.

Transferring the design with a black pen, I then used my trusty stencil burner for hours and hours and then even more hours (it's a 12" x 14" stencil).

I love the pattern, cutting mistakes, warts and all.

While I'm rarely happy with the first print on a Gelli plate pull,

 I love the ghost prints,

which range from strong to subtle.

 And of course, after a while the stencil itself gains some beautiful colour.

Helpful Hint:  When using a stencil burner, ensure that your glass support is tempered, and that you use a steady slow motion.  It's particularly tricky burning a house wrap 'fabric', as they tend to be lumpy, bumpy and grooved.  I like this brand for its linear quality, though, which adds another dimension, particularly to Gelli prints.

I love these hand-burnt stencils for a couple of reasons - they are very thin and lovely to place underneath a commercial, thicker stencil, and because I cut them myself they have that hand-crafted look that is unique to the maker.  Check out Tuesday's post find out how you can learn more about Gelli printing!