Hi there!
Recently I had the privilege to watch Mary Beth Shaw's fab and inspiring new online workshop: Painted Paper Party!
In one of the lesson intros, she says something along the lines of being addicted to creating painted papers. Mary Beth has a lot of them, and she uses them in all of her art.
Now you may know that I gel print a lot. So I don't have a collection of painted papers like Mary Beth does; however, I have an ever-growing gel printed stash.
And, unlike Mary Beth, I'm much less inclined to use those gel prints in everything I create.
So whenever people ask me what I do with my gel printed papers, I honestly never really know what to answer.
Because in the ideal world, I would only have finished monoprints, or I would have a stash of gel printed papers that I know I need and use.
The gel printed papers that I use fall into two categories: thin pieces, like computer paper (or similar weight), go into the collage bin. And even lighter papers, like deli paper or tissue paper, go in another collage bin.
The problem is that I tend to pull the majority of my prints on paper that's around 200 gsm. This weight is perfect for finished prints, for making cards, and for using the prints as a base for mixed media art pieces.
Unfortunately, I've learned over time that I'm not a substantial 'background prints' user. And I'm not a vast cardmaker either.
I do like to make little journals. However, not all of my prints are suitable for the purpose. So that's where I run into trouble…
In a final attempt to make a dent in my (gel printed) paper stash, I've started to cut all of my remaining painted papers down to postcard size. Not just the gel printed papers, but all promising looking brayer clean sheets, misprints, practise pieces etc. too.
These papers can be pasted onto a card base; they can be turned into books or pasted into journals. And, whenever I feel like doing something other than working in a journal, I can dive into my box of 'postcards' and work on top of what's already there.
Is this the be-all, end-all solution? My box of postcard-sized printed papers is already overflowing, so the jury is still out on that one. However, I can see the potential. So let me show you how I use some of these gel printed postcard-sized papers to create a little book!
Marsha.
StencilGirl® stencils used:
S874 Terrazzo Stencil by Lucie Duclos
S869 Abstract Botanical Grid Stencil by Jennifer Evans
S770 Snakeskin Repeating Pattern stencil by Jennifer Evans
S730 Brilliant Start by Mary Beth Shaw
S677 Stone Tilings stencil by Valerie Sjodin
S383 Sea of Grapes by Rae Missigman
S374 Stone and Mortar Version 1 by Mary Beth Shaw
S172 Runes Stencil by Jessica Sporn
S094 Slices 6 Stencil by Terri Stegmiller
L661 Hamilton stencil by Nathalie Kalbach
L659 Exchange Place by Nathalie Kalbach
L652 Garden Montage by Cecilia Swatton
L591 Vintage Typewriter Numbers by Carolyn Dube
L467 Amsterdam stencil by Nathalie Kalbach
L458 Toledo stencil by Nathalie Kalbach
L446 Kunst Masken 1 by Andrew Borloz
