Gelli Printing Enthusiasts - BLOG HOP

I am happy to participate in this fun event organized by Michelle Reynolds who is the administrator of one of our Facebook groups, Gelli Printing Enthusiasts.

I have been gelli printing ever since the Gelli Arts people released their wonderful gelli plates a couple of years ago.  I have to say it has added SO much to my repertoire of skills to use in my mixed media and collage art.  As a longtime mixed media artist, I sometimes feel like I need to inject something new and fresh into my work.  Gelli plate printing was just the ticket for me and there's been no looking back.  I've made bazillions of prints and even taught an online class this summer on making art journals with gelli prints and recycled materials.  

Today, I wanted to share with you some ideas of the range of things you can make with your gelli prints.  The sky really is the limit and I would encourage you to use your imagination to its fullest here.  So often, I hear from my students or followers that they just don't know what to do with all these prints they are making.  Well, here are some ideas for you.  Each photo has a caption underneath it describing how the piece was made.

"Moon Goddess" was made with a recycled shipping tag
that was gelli printed on both sides.  I used a second
print for the face and stamped images for her "hair."
Funky fibers and some stick-on sparkly doodads
complete the piece.

"Full Moon On The 26" is an altered tag art doll.
The tag was gelli printed on both sides and then I used
salvaged beads and jewelry bits for the arms and
legs, and other recycled items for the head.
It's about 4.5" tall

"A Breath Of Fresh Air" was created on a
recycled CD for the base.  I glued a gelli print
onto the CD, then used other gelli prints to make
the little person, along with stamped images
and other collage elements.  It measures 4.75".

Artist Trading Cards - made with gelli prints
for the backgrounds and then stamped images
(Teesha Moore) and collage elements to finish them off.

Bookmarks - you can wrap a gelli print around
a piece of cardstock or cardboard and make
funky bookmarks.  Here I did that and added some
fun little collage characters to complete each piece.

Gelli Print Art Magnets - here I took gelli scraps
and adhered them to sticky-backed sheet magnets
and then collaged on top.  Each is 2" X 3.5"

Use your gelli scraps and your rubber stamps
to make fun little collage elements for other projects.

Use your gelli scraps and your rubber stampsto make fun little collage elements for other projects.

Gellii prints glued to recycled CDs which
will be used to make mixed media art magnets

Use a template to draw out this bow pattern
on the back of a gelli print, cut out and
assemble for one-of-a-kind gift ornaments.

There are so many more uses for those gelli prints but I'd better stop now so you can move along in your blog hop.  I hope I've sparked your imagination as to just a couple of fun and creative things you too can try.
Enjoy the rest of the hop!
Here's the list of other participants in this fun blog hop:

Wednesday 15th Oct Michelle Reynolds http://shellsinthebush.blogspot.com.au/
Thursday 16th Oct Joanna Grant  http://joannabananadesignoriginals.blogspot.com
Friday 17th Oct Jacques Williamos http://theelevatorpress.wordpress.com/
Saturday 18th Oct Linda Stokes http://www.lindastokes-textileartist.com/
Sunday 19th Oct Phillippa Montier http://pipart71.weebly.com
Monday 20th Oct Lauri Crowe http://www.laurijeancrowe.com
Tuesday 21st Oct Gail Schmidt http://www.shabbycottagestudio.net
Wednesday 22nd Oct Tami Sturm Howse  Www.thisandthatfromtami.blogspot.com

GELLI PRINT ART TAGS with Phyllis Terrell

Gelli Printed Art Tags By Phyllis Terrell

One of the great things about teaching online and having an online presence through this blog, Facebook and other sites, is the opportunity to connect with like-minded souls.  I so enjoy that!!

Case in point, my recent online workshop "Gelli Jam" with Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat in the summer of 2014.  I met such wonderful people through this event, including the lovely Phyllis Terrell.  One of the projects Phyllis and the other students took part in was making a mini art journal with gelli printed shipping tags.  

The image above is a scan of just a handful of the tags that Phyllis so generously sent to me for me to use in my own mixed media art.

Below are a couple examples of what I did with Phyllis' tags.  You all know how I love to create little characters with bits of pieces of this and that.  This practice of creating little "people" lends itself well to tag art.  It's also an opportunity for me to use up other scrap bits and recycled elements including those funky fibers that adorn the tags.

The very last tag uses some recycled scrapbooking stickers that someone was going to throw out.  They are metallic silver and really pop against Phyllis' awesome tag.  I'm going to send her this one as a thank you for her generous gift.

Hope you are having an awesome, artful day, my friends.

Cheers!
Joanna

LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS now in stock!

"Honor"  (Namaste - I honor the light in you)

Etsy Listing - "Honor"

Hello friends;

I thought I'd share with you some of my recent listings in my Etsy store of a new line of limited edition art magnets I have had made.

These are all reproductions of my original mixed media work.  Each magnet is about 4" X 5.5" and has a semi-glossy professional finish to it.

They make great gift ideas (easily mail one in a standard No. 10 envelope).  You can jazz up your kitchen appliances or those boring office filing cabinets too!

More designs to come so stay tuned.

Thanks for looking!

"Enjoy The Journey"

Etsy Listing = "Enjoy The Journey" 

"Sing Your Song"

Etsy Listing - "Sing Your Song"

GELLI PRINT PACKING TAPE ART MAGNETS - HOW TO

Art Magnets Made With Gelli Tape Transfer Technique

Hi friends;

Here's a long overdue post for you on how I make those art magnets, using my gelli prints on packing tape.

If you haven't see the Gelli Arts video on how to make cool, arty packing tape with gelli prints, then go here first to see what I am talking about:

Gelli Arts Packing Tape Video

So, here are some photos of two of my Gelli plates with acrylic and dimensional paints.
 

12 X 14 Gelli Plate With Acrylic & Dimensional Paints

6 X 6 Gelli Plate With Acrylic Paints

And here is the tape I made from those two plates:

Gelli Tape - No Glitter Or Pearl Ex Powder Used Yet

Gelli Tape With Teal And Purple Glitter Added To Fill In The Sticky Areas

The tape was just about the perfect width for me to make backgrounds for my art magnets I create so often.  I use those sticky-backed business card-sized magnets you can buy at the office supply store.  They are 2" X 3.5" and are great for making small-scale art magnets.

Sticky-backed business card magnet blanks

All I had to do was peel off the white paper from the magnet, put the gelli tape on the magnet (remember, it's VERY sticky) and then trim the edges.

So now I have the backgrounds of the art magnets ready, what am I going to put on top of the Gelli tape?

I started by adding some of my doodly flower collage elements.  And then I added even more doodling on them with my Sakura Moonlight Gelly Roll pens (this step not shown).

Next, from my ever-increasing stash of stuff, I pulled some cute vintage-style graphics that measure about 1" X 2" and which I had already put under those sticky-backed resin pieces you can buy for such purposes.  They are great to use for making pendants and domino art.  I believe these images came from Lisa's Altered Art.

Resin Blanks (left) and Vintage Images Under Resin (right)

I used some E-6000 (similar to GOOP) to adhere the vintage images that were now under resin to the magnet backgrounds.  Clothes pins held them in place until they dried.

And here are the finished pieces.  The scans really don't do them justice as they are very bright and shiny because of the packing tape and the resin.

If you go back to the top of this post, you'll see a couple of examples of another style of magnet I made using some sweet vintage images of ladies and their dogs, and with this same technique.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial and I'd love to see what you create with your gelli packing tape.

Until next time ...

Joanna

HUGE GIVEAWAY with BIRDNUTS MIXED MEDIA BLOG ! CHECK IT OUT !!

AND THE WINNER IS ...

KIM JOLLEY ... CONGRATULATIONS!

And thank you to all of you who entered and for your support.  

I so appreciate it.  

Hope to see you at Gelli Jam this summer!

WOW!!  
My friend, Denise Phillips from BIRDNUTS MIXED MEDIA
and I have a FANTASTIC giveaway for YOU!

To promote my GELLI JAM ART JOURNAL WORKSHOP with Artful Gathering this summer, Denise has so generously agreed to host a HUGE giveaway on her blog for me.  This is an ONLINE workshop starting July 16 and running through August 26.  

Denise, a fellow Canadian artist, has a fantastic blog about her artful adventures.  Here's the link.  You'll want to hop on over there to check out the giveaway as well as see samples of her fun, irreverent art.

BIRDNUTS MIXED MEDIA BLOG

All the giveaway details are there for you.  

And here's the link to my workshop.  I hope you'll join me! We are going to have SO much fun using a gelatin plate and recycled materials you already have to create awesome handmade art journals for yourself or others.

GELLI JAM ART JOURNAL WORKSHOP

Here are some of the things we'll be doing in this ONLINE, work-at-your-own-pace workshop.  

I`ll show you how to make ALL of these awesome journals!

SEE YOU THERE!

Cheers!
Joanna

It's a TREASURE HUNT! Check Out What You Can Win !!

C'mon, play along!  

The artists from Artful Gathering 2014 are participating in a treasure hunt and YOU could win some wonderful prizes.  

Find out more details here:  Artful Gathering Treasure Hunt

And be sure to check out the Artful Gathering program book to see the details about my classes:  "Gelli Jam Art Journal Workshop" coming this summer!

Good luck on the hunt!

MIXED MEDIA ART MAGNETS - back to where it all began

Hello everyone;

Many, many moons ago (about 15 years), as some of you will know, I started on my artful adventure in mixed media by making little collages on magnets with recycled and salvaged materials.  I had been given a whole bunch of business card blanks (sturdy cardstock that measured 2" X 3.5") and decided to experiment in collage with them.  Their small size meant the process wasn't too intimidating and it was really easy to get work finished quickly.

At about the same time, I found out that you could get sticky backed magnets the exact same size and that lots of people used these magnets to turn their business cards into a marketing tool for themselves.  The light bulb went on and I still use these sticky-backed magnets to make miniature works of art to this day.

I am now, all these years later, a self-confession Gelli plate printing addict.  I use my gelli monoprints in all kinds of mixed media and collage pieces and always have interesting little bits left over, which lend themselves very well to becoming magnets.

The following are images of my most recent creations using scraps of Gelli prints along with collage elements.  I have deliberately chosen to keep the compositions simple so that the beautiful, one-of-a-kind backgrounds can shine.  You can't see it in the scans, but many of the magnets have also been treated to a little dash of glitter for a bit of sparkle.

I hope you like them.  A few are already sold but some of these are still available if you are interested.

Cheers, my friends!
Joanna

MY ONLINE ART CLASS with ARTFUL GATHERING

Hello All;

As some of you may know, I have been honored with the opportunity to teach my first online art class this summer with Artful Gathering, the PREMIERE venue for mixed media online classes.  I am so excited about this!

I will be teaching a class called "Gelli Jam" which will be all about making handmade art journals with gelatin prints and objects you have around the house.  If you're thinking of participating, you can use either a homemade gelatin plate (there are lots of recipes for these on the Internet) or a Gelli Arts (TM) Gel Printing Plate.  Either will work just fine for the projects we are going to do.

I have just finished filming my classes which will run from mid-July through the end of August on the Artful Gathering website.  You can find out more about it at:  Artful Gathering 2014

Here is a little video SNEAK PEEK at what we 'll create in the class. Hope you can join me!

Cheers!
Joanna

SNEAK PEEK VIDEO

ART JOURNAL FLIP THROUGH - PART 2

I'm still working out the kinks with this video production thing, so I appreciate you bearing with me.  I promise to get better!

Anyway, for those who are interested and all those who always ask for this, here is the link to my second art journal flip through video.

Thank you for looking!

Joanna

Newest Gelli Print Art

Hello all;

This is just a quick post to show you some of my recent work.  I've been playing with prints of my Gelli plate prints and enhancing them with doodles, flowers, etc.  I really like how these enhancements really make each print a whole new piece of art.

I've been using assorted markers and pens and some colored paper here and there.  Love how colorful and whimsical these have turned out and I hope you enjoy them too.

I liked how "Enjoy The Journey" turned out so much, that I have ordered a very small limited edition run of notebooks featuring this print on the cover.  I'll be listing a couple of them in my Etsy shop in due course.

Until next time, happy arting!

Joanna

Guest Blog Post - "How To" Mini Art Journal With Old Office Supplies

Art Journal Made With Recycled Office Supplies

Hi everyone!

I thought you might like to see a recent guest post I did over on the "12 Months In View" website.  The theme was gratitude and thanksgiving, and I made a small art journal with recycled office supplies.

You can find the link here:

How To Make A Mini Art Journal With Recycled Office Supplies

And here are a few photos from the post, just to pique your curiosity.

Thanks for looking and happy art-ing!

Joanna

How To Be A Production Artist - Part 1

Original Art - "I Am Here"

I am often asked about my techniques for being a production artist so I thought I'd share some of my strategies here with you.

As an artist who has a full time job too (and a life, occasionally), it's really hard to carve out much time for my art, let alone make that scarce time really efficient and get the most out of it.  Fortunately, many many years ago now, I figured out how I could make the art that I did have time to create (and sell) go further, thus giving me much more satisfaction in what I was able to achieve.  I already resent that I can't spend all day making art, so I am very grateful for discovering this process.  I am sure there are many other production artists out there who have different ways of making their art go further, these are just a couple of examples of what I do.

First, here's a photo of an original piece of art called "I Am Here."  It is 3" X 5" on canvas.

Original Art "I Am Here"

I scan each and every piece of finished art, assuming it will fit on my scanner bed.  Since I usually make pretty small art, it is not a problem.  Scanning gives me excellent quality images, far better than any camera I have ever used.

This piece was scanned three times, each at 300 DPI.  I scan at 100%, then 50%, then 25% and end up with three JPG files.  I then copy the 25% JPG file to create a fourth file onto which I put my copyright watermark.  It is this fourth image that appears in sale listings or here on my blog or on my Facebook pages.  I never put any art online without a copyright/watermark on it because I have had so many of my art images stolen over the years.  At least with a watermark on it, if someone steals it they are going to have to do a bit of work to clean the image up before they can make pirated copies.

Now that the image has been scanned, I can play with it however I like.  I often work in Microsoft Publisher for this step.  It is a super easy program to use and gives me great results.  I use it mostly for final layout and printing.  The other program I use is PhotoShop, but I am not very proficient at it.  I just play around in it once in a while to see what effects I can create.  

In this first example below, I have taken the "I Am Here" image and used some of the tools in PhotoShop to blur the background a bit and move the colors around and play with the brightness.  If you take a close look you can see how it's a bit different from the original.  I saved this JPG as yet another version of the original, so I now have five copies of the image.  Then I imported copy number five JPG into MS Publisher and sized it to print two copies (each 5" X 7") on an 8.5" X 11" piece of paper and printed it on a color copier.

Image Manipulated With Various PhotoShop Tools

After cutting out the two images, I did some journaling around the heart in black permanent marker.  I also did some stacked journaling in white gel pen around the edge of the heart.  The black marker was also used to enhance the sentiment on the image.

Print Of PhotoShopped Image With Journaling And Doodling Added

I'm sure you are beginning to see the possibilities you have with these techniques.  You can continue to take your images as far as you like, while always keeping the integrity of the original image for future use.  This particular piece will probably end up glued into one of my art journals and have some more collaged elements added to it.  Who knows??

I'll post some more examples of this and other production techniques in the coming weeks and months.  I hope this post has given you some food for thought about how you can make your valuable art time go a lot further.

As always, if you have any questions about my processes, I am always happy to help out.

All the best, my friends.

Joanna