Gelli Plate Results

Last night when I got home from work I realized I had left my gelli printed fabric at work.  What a shame, now I had to play some more.  I made these four prints.

To make these backgrounds I used the brayer to spread the paint on the gelli plate then made different textures using a comb, paint brush (both ends), and a variety of other odds and ends.  Gotta do it quickly before the paint dries. I used light colors because when I print I tend to go from light to dark and back to light.

Then I would position the fabric on part of the gelli plate. I wanted a variety of colors/shape/textures on the fabric so I would only place a corner or one edge of the fabric onto the plate.   To print I rub the fabric with my hand to transfer the paint.  I found I liked using my  hand better than using a dry brayer.   The brayer caused wrinkles but my  hand didn't. You can either get paint on your hand (which I sometimes decided to do) or you can place a piece of paper on the fabric before rubbing it since the paint does sometimes bleed through the fabric.

I found I could get a first strong print and a second ghost print using this method. That was really pretty cool because if I used only one corner of the gelli plate for a direct print on one piece of fabric, then I could used the top half of the gelli plate for a direct print and the bottom corner as a ghost print at the same time on my next piece of fabric--a two-fer.

I repeated this process till I was satisfied with a nice background (see above).

Now it is time to add the foreground.  Remember this is what I wanted the finished fabric to look like:

1. Abstract compositions with planes of colors
2. Strong horizon lines
3. Complex layering achieved through texture and color
4. A symbolic representation of "an individual" in each.
5. The design/composition finished (or resolved) by printing or by stitch.

I made a mask out of card stock to represent my "individual" and then I repeated the same process I used in making the background but this time I used darker colors. I think two of the prints are ready for stitching.  The other two prints either need more layers going back to light colors or to be used in a collage.

These are the two I like and will start some stitching on them.

These are the two that I will stare at for a while and decide where to go next.

This post is linked to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays