Monoprinting with Gelli Plates

This past gathering at the MCBA Visual Journal Collective I got the chance to try something  I've been wanting to try for quite a while - Monoprinting with Gelli Plates.  The process is quite similar to gelatin printing, except you don't have to cook your own gelatin mold, and instead use a gelatinous slab that can be reused. The main benefit of this process is that it is easy to do at home - no access to expensive equipment is required! Besides being quick, easy, and a bit whimsical, I would imagine that you could use this method to print on any solid surface as well as combine with other printing methods to create compelling images.  I haven't have a chance to play around with this more (yet) but wanted to share my first stab at it.

In the first print (on the left) I used the brayer mostly to push the paint around and then color shapers for the smaller marks.  The second print (on the right) was pulled using what was left on the gelli plate from the first print, with the addition of a bit more paint and a layering of stencils.

A huge thanks to Briana Goetzen with Orange Spiral Arts for sharing this with us.

Lakewood Cemetery with Metro Sketchers

Wow! Nothing like being able to sketch at a beautiful place on a gorgeous day... I think I could have spent all day in a happy state of blissfulness with my sketchbook and Joan Sorano's new Mausoleum at the Lakewood Cemetery.  Any opportunity for my inner (almost) architect self to come out is a good one:) Committing to sketch a section cut of this masterpiece felt as much an exercise in studying and understanding scale proportion as the usual light/shadow/composition challenges that urban sketching brings. Bit by bit, walking down the long hallway each little nook revealed itself as unique and compelling, yet still a part of the greater whole. This is what I hoped to capture - the subtle nuances and manipulations of space.

Again, given the opportunity I could have easily spent endless hours here.  Hopefully next time I'll venture above ground more, but until then, here are a few other photos of the site and building: