Cath Sheard Art

Tag: Gelli Prints

  • Staying with the process

    I committed to filling at least one art journal with ideas before starting on ‘good’ paper or wooden panels.

    Today I made a huge pile of gelli prints using leaves and grasses then accidentally spilt about 1/3 of a bottle of green ink on the pile of prints. They’re mainly ok though, and some of the layers are magic.

    I’m still working on my small Venezia journal and have taped borders on every second page in the A4 size one.

    I seem to be flipping between abstract and semi realistic. I know why … and it’s holding me back. I need to stick more firmly to my own artistic voice.

  • Is this it? A new series.

    I posted recently about the quiet space between projects, where I play in my art journals, try out ideas, and just muddle about. I’d been listening to a YT post by Helen Wells who refers to the ebb and flow of creativity.

    Sometimes I think I’m ready for a new series so I make a start and it’s just not right. I wrote about a false start back in March. I’ve been looking at photos from the last couple of times Alan and I have been away in the hills, and painting some ideas in my small journals.

    Last night I was watching Australian artist Laura Horn on YT; I’ve admired her work for a long time. There was something about her work that made what had been on the periphery of my knowing come into focus. I’ve started making gelli prints with a specific purpose in mind, and have bought 6 wood panels to work on. They’re only 12×12” so I can have two or three on my desk at once. I’m excited to see what happens…

  • New stencils

    I ordered a few new stencils, designed by Elizabeth St Hilaire, from Joggles recently. I’ve got a few sets by Elizabeth and love them all. This time I got the Picasso mask and stencil set, and a few individual stencils. I had a play today, and think I’m going to get a lot of use from these.

  • Stronger contrasts

    In my last post I said I’d given away all my gelli prints. During the week I bought some Golden Open acrylics – they’re expensive here in New Zealand but great for gelli printing. I choose a few favourite colours; black, titan buff, red, titan pale green (celadon), dark violet and anthraquinone blue.

    I got out my Elizabeth St Hilaire stencils, plus a few old favs from StencilGirl, and got to work. I wanted some graphic prints, and stronger lines. I made about 50 prints, using a mix of Hahnemuhle Sumi e and Sketch rice paper.

  • The colour of hope

    I’m doing two #100dayprojects, and am up to day 84. One of them is about making a collage a day, and I’ve been playing along with Froyle, as she inspires us to try different colours. This week she asked what colour represents hope for us. My initial thought was orange but, the more I thought about it, that’s not true. I love orange, it’s about fire and passion and danger, not hope.

    For me hope is a mix of blues and greens; the colours of nature and the sea. The land and waterways being healthy is what will give me hope for earth. I particularly love the colour of the Hokitika Gorge, and the greens of the land as it meets the blue of the distant hills on the West Coast. When I’m there I create lovely gelli prints inspired by the land around me. When I get home I stop. Not because I’m home, but because – as beautiful as it is – the land around me doesn’t inspire me in quite the same way.

    Here’s the first of this week’s collages inspired by the colour of hope.