Pink Is My Favorite Color, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Leada Wood, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Collage

Gelli is my new obsession without a question! This is some of my collage paper I am making from my Gelli prints. It is so much fun it could be illegal. I am trying to build a stash, scan it into my computer so I can use them over and over again for cards, backgrounds for art journals or collage. Hopefully I will come up with some more uses along the way as well. Would love to hear what you do with your Gelli prints.

Gelli printing is only the beginning...after slathering layers of paint I stamp it up, stencil, scribble, splatter and color to my hearts content.  I then break them down and reassemble them into something new...kind of like puzzle solving.

This is actually an accumulation of several days work or play...so relaxing and completely takes me away to my happy place. It gives an unique look to my art that is all my own. Immersed in the process I give myself the freedom to create and enjoy the process.

Another Gelli print. You can use them whole or find a small section that floats your boat. The possibilities are endless. It looks pretty busy but as you can see from the one below a small section is nice.

A close up of a happy accident. I impressed my stamp on top of a towel and it picked up the weave in the towel as well...SWEET!

This is my new stamp and you can really see the texture from the towel here. I think they call this magic foam...just heat with a heat gun and impress the design into the foam. MAGIC!

I used my new Derwent Art Bars on this one and love the intense color and creamy texture of them. I have had them for a while but decided it was time to try them out. Do you save your art supplies for special or try them out right away?

Working on a new series is always fun! I started five today...can't wait to get back into the studio and get going on them. I am so grateful for an artist's life and the opportunity to create. 

Have a great weekend!

Making Gelli by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Leada Wood, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Collage

Copyright Leada Wood 2016

Happy Friday! More fun in the studio cutting up Gelli prints and making complicated papers. I must be ready for spring as these colors remind me of flowers, bright, happy colors. I am trying to get enough papers made so that I can start my new series and incorporate my Gellies as collage. 

Copyright Leada Wood 2016

Why not buy paper you ask? Well I want my paper to be original and have my stamp of creativity on them...a different look all my own in the colors I choose and they are such FUN to make!

This Gelli was a little busy so I glaze over it with a blue to calm it down a little and give it another layer.

Copyright Leada Wood 2016

You can still see everything but in a more subdued way and it makes the colors more cohesive.

Copyright Leada Wood 2016

I glazed over this one with Nickel Azo Gold. It just gives a little mystery to the papers. I probably won't use whole sheets, maybe bit and pieces here and there. I use transparent colors when glazing and a glazing medium. I also keep a paper towel handy in case I get heavy handed.

Copyright Leada Wood 2016

This Gelli is one of my favorites and destined to become the cover of a sketchbook. Why make Gellies? It gives me papers that I could never set down and paint...happy accidents occurring together...layer upon layer. I scan them into my computer and have sparks for art journal pages, card making, mixed media, collage or have it printed on canvas. The possibilities are endless if you just imagine!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

"Every possibility begins with the courage to IMAGINE."

Back In The Studio, By Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Leada Wood, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Collage

Hope your new year is starting off with good things! It has been a busy year already with getting ready for shows, art classes, oral surgery and an eye surgery but life is good!

My word for this year is still...mmmmmm.....you know silent, calm, tranquil, quiet, unhurried, peaceful, relaxed, to name a few meanings of the word. I am trying, really I am but life happens and there are so many fun and interesting things to do! 

copyright 2016 Leada Wood

This is some complicated paper I am making from those Gelli prints that have been stacking up. I think it could be framed, used in collage or make cards with it. What do you do with your Gelli prints?

Gelli printing is such fun I wanted to share it with a couple of my older students. They took to it like ducks to water, after all who knows how to play better than kids.

I am not sure who had the most fun me or them! They caught on quickly and we used LOTS of paint and paper. The next lesson will be to add more layers and unify the papers.

Gelli print in progress

This is a close up of one of the Gelli prints. The more layers you make the more interesting they become. You can always unify the papers with a glaze or veil of paint. I use different weights and kinds of papers for this technique. 

This is just a small portion of the afternoons work, there were papers all over the floor as well. I am grateful for a warm studio where I can create these cold winter days. Thanks for stopping by!

"Be happy in the moment, that is enough. Each moment is all we need, not more."

                                                                                             --- Mother Teresa

Gelli Printing by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Gelli Fun In Studio Twenty

 

This is what a good afternoon at Studio Twenty looks like when Gelli Printing...piles of colorful, interesting papers waiting to be repurposed into a new work of art. This is also only what I consider keepers...the rest need working on.

My dear friend Sue and I had a great play day making Gelli prints. She had never made them before and thought they were a lot of work, but fun! I guess it is all a state of mind. I love making Gelli prints and go into my own creative space when doing so and before I know it is time to go home.

I have been doing a little printing on cloth. The one on the right is the original print and the one on the left is the ghost print. I made the material 9x11 so that if I want I can make prayer flags out of them.

 

This Gelli is on Watercolor paper.

 

This Gelli is done on brown Kraft paper.

 

 

These Gellies are on fabric.

I started by printing a solid color and letting it dry and then used stencils, stamps, masks and black paint to make the design. I also tried different surfaces than I normally use.  I discovered that if using Gellies for prayer flags you have to leave a little quiet space of color to incorporate your prayers.

 

These are the same piece of fabric, I zoomed in on the bottom one after I worked on it a little. I decided that the top one needed a little refining to discover some of the shapes. I used Sharpie markers to draw on the fabric...you can't hold it in place too long or it will bleed...unless that is the effect you are after.  I used a little alcohol on the Sharpie in the bottom right corner to make the color spread.

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I have been up to...thanks for stopping by!

 

 

copyright 2015

 

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More Gelli Prints by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

 

I was honored to do a Demo on Gelli Printing for the Big Spring Art Association this past Tuesday evening. I thought I would share some of my finished prints with you. It is such a fun process and the prints can be used in so many ways. You also can print on various surfaces and obtain excellent results.

 

Of course my studio is usually a wreck during the printing process! When I print it is usually a days work and I have piles of Prints. I then separate them into three piles... a more to go pile, an almost there pile and that's a wrap pile and sometimes one or two find their way into the trash pile. I find adding lots of layers usually makes the most interesting papers

 

I use my hand made stamps for the images or sometimes I paint over the Gelli Print and of course they are always great for collage. Making stamps is another thing that is fun to do. There are all kinds of ways to make stamps but that is another post.

This little elephant was made into a card...waiting for the right person to send it to. I love to get real mail, don't you? Especially cards handmade with love!

 

A little birdie told me to make another card. I sometimes add little embellishments along with the Gellies.

You never know how your Gellies will turn out. This one has a little metallic paint on it as well. I enjoy using bight color combinations. That's the way I roll.

Even when you use similar stamps and colors no two Gellies will ever be the same. That is one of the fascinating things about Gelli Printing...each print is unique and cannot be duplicated exactly.

I love the rich colors and interesting textures you can create. It's so much fun...kind of like making mud pies when I was a kid.

 

Bee kind to one another and have a wonderful, relaxing weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Gelli Printing, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

 

I have been playing around with my Gelli again, so much fun! I have been trying out different stencils, stamps and found objects to see which makes the best prints. Seems to me the more layers you add the more interesting they become. I have also narrowed my tools down to my favorites. Some folks may print with control but I have found that complete abandonment turns out the best.

I have Gelli plates in several sizes but today I only worked with the 8x10. I think there may have been a little spring influence in my colors, they remind me of Easter.

 

 

I also tried something new today...printing on fabric. I really like the way it accepted the paint. What fun!

 

I also tried a new paper and metallic paints. I liked the way they look just not sure what to do with these yet. The other papers are great for collage, making cards or using in your art journals. I have a few ideas of what I want to do with my fabric but that's another post.