Cutting Stencils & Masks

I played around cutting some stencils and masks from plastics, to play with on my Gelli plate. I had cut the ferny leaf one a month ago, with an Exacto knife, the others I cut with a scissors. On the new Gelli Arts blog they had a video demo of a botanical print they made on their new 8" round gelatin plate. They had used stencil/masks from Green Pepper Press her "Fronds" sets are much more delicate and flowing then the ones I made, and you can order hers for purchase. I decided to cut some of my own stencil/mask combos. I used two types of template plastic, and exposed X-ray plastic, one of the plastics was very heavy and difficult to cut. I started with poppy pods, as I have always loved the way they look, I have already made one art quilt with pods, using freezer paper masks, and printing. Then I made some wavy, leafy things and grass types and curls.

The spiky holly leaves were the heavy plastic, and all the points got bent, but I was able to smooth it out. The dark plastic is the X-ray film, it is light weight and easy to cut, I used a white marking pencil to draw my designs free hand. If you are careful cutting in one stroke, you can use both the negative and the positive image. I have made masks before, and I put them all on the computer, so I could print out as many as I needed, but with the paper, I still have to cut them out each time. These plastic ones will be more permanent, and won't stick in the paint.

After I had cut an assortment, I got a full sheet of X-ray film to cut long poppy pods, and one long leaf stem. When they are all mixed together and arranged they will be awesome. I can't wait for a play day to try them with the Gelli plate and paints!

Masks for Gelli Printing

I made several pages of masks for the Gelli printing process. I had started out using freezer paper, and after 1 or 2 uses they were no good anymore, and I had to make new ones. So I decided to make a whole page of masks, scan them into the computer and then I can print them when I want one. I made a page of several different butterflies, teacups, fruit(apples, pears, cherries, lemon) teapot, creamer and sugar, tulips, and I traced my hand, did a left and right and a smaller one too. So when I went to do some Gelli printing I cut out a bunch of tulips, made light colored textured backgrounds, arranged the tulips, in pairs, trios, with the page horizontal and vertical, and had some fun trying different arrangements. If I had to make each tulip cutout as I needed it, I would have lost the creative spontaneity. See the previous post for some examples of finished prints. Make your own page of masks, or I give you permission to save and copy my masks, to use for your own personal projects. Peggy said she made some fish masks, I'm thinking of quiet a few more pages to draw and scan. I can certainly paint and print, faster than I can quilt them, so maybe I need some restraint(oh Yea, that's gonna happen!) I hope you give it a try, you can order the "Gelli Plates" from GelliArts.com and watch the instructional videos on their blog, they were very helpful teaching tools and beautiful examples to look at. You can also make your own gelatin plate, directions are in the February Quilting Arts Magazine. Use 4 packets of unflavored gelatin to one cup of cold water, stir to disolve, add one cup hot water, pour into a 9x9 pan, set for several hours or overnight. You can remove the gelatin from the pan or use it as is, roll acrylic paint on the gelatin with a brayer, stamp, draw or impress objects into the paint. Lay a piece of fabric on top and smooth with your hands. Lift off the fabric and dry, add additional layers if desired.