Health issues again have prevented me from doing much work. Nothing life threatening, but chronic nagging issues really drain your enthusiasm! In particular I haven’t been able to stand at the press very much. As an experiment I’ve been trying gel printing.
If you are not sure what that is have a look on YouTube where there are lots of ‘how to’ videos. If you want to avoid 45 minutes of umms and ahhs, look for videos by Ruth Alice Kosnik, Jane Davies and Gerda Lipski. There are also many examples from the main manufacturers of these plates, Gel Press and Gelli Arts. He doesn’t have many up yet, but this video from Canadian artist Bob Pennycook is also worth a look for his ingenious jig to enable precise registration.
Hi there Ian. I saw a reply of yours on the “Top Printmaking” website and noticed that you mentioned difficulty with your hands or maybe it was your arms…..anyway I thought I would mention to you that Great Art (online art store) sell something called Rhenalon.
This is polypropylene , a kind of ‘floppy’ transparent plastic. This is easier to use for scribing into, with a drypoint tool etc. I also like the you can easily cut it into shapes. It suits my way of creating images.
I notice from the above post that you are also having problems with standing at the etching press – living with chronic pain – I certainly know about this ‘pain in the butt’ frustration etc, my pain is exacerbated by walking /standing……Its a bit tricky avoiding this, but ho hum. I liked what you said above, about the youtube videos with loads of ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and nonsense and all looking so darned similar and not very much to do with making ‘art’.
They almost make me feel a bit queasy actually. Its always satisfying to find someone doing something ‘original’ with the Gelli plate.
Anyway I am trying to subscribe to your website. I always seem to have trouble with WordPress. If I am successful I will leave another comment another time. You can subscribe to my blog if you like.