Although still used today by some purists, gelatin plates use to be made by hand using food grade gelatin. They’d eventually get moldy or if the temperature got too hot they’d lose their firmness. So artists who wanted to mono print and didn’t have use of a press had to rely on this method. (There are other vehicles that can produce mono prints as well but they are limited).
Then came the Gelli Plate®. This is a synthetic gelatin plate that works just like gelatin except it is very durable and will last for a very long time.
The range of techniques available is endless. I am constantly experimenting and gathering fabulous pieces and textures, backgrounds and scraps to use in later art or put into my art journals.
It is an incredible tool for children and I use it in my art classes often.
Waxed Gelatin Print
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Waxed Gelatin Print
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Waxed Gelatin Print
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Waxed Gelatin Print Collage
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Waxed Gelatin Print Collage
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©2020, Jamie Lee Hoffer
12” x 12”
These are japanese silk tissue paper gel prints that I then wax with encaustic medium. This process makes the paper translucent. They are collaged with layers and layers of waxed pieces.
With any kind of light source from behind, the piece transforms into something wonderfully different. B
I studied printmaking in collage and loved the process of examining the potential of what was yet to come.
Etching was my favorite – the wonderful smells of all the toxic resists, and solvents, the flirt with danger of nitric acid baths, heat plates and a 1.5 ton press – there’s nothing pure and simple about it.
I miss the etching studio and would love to experiment with the new non toxic materials available to us now.
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