Gelatin printing on Tissue Paper

Gelatin prints on Tissue Paper

I read about this on Linda Germain's blog, my go-to-person-for-gelatin-related-inspiration. I like to do encaustic collages on occasion, and these tissue paper prints will work very well for textures. Tissue paper appears to dissolve when it absorbs wax, so all white areas will disappear and in it's place you'll see the layer underneath. I used Akua inks directly on the gelatin plate--just a few drops per color on my 8 x 8 slab--then employed a brayer to cover the slab with the ink. The Fleur-de-lis pattern is a commercially purchased foam stamp. The circles are simply a plastic container that I gently touched the plate with, and in some cases, smeared around.

(I have several posts on Gelatin Printmaking--you could do a search on the blog to find out more. Linda Germain is the bomb though... Do check out her sight.)

A used gelatin plate that's been frozen
and now ready for nuking

The gelatin I used for this experiment was originally used around Thanksgiving time. After a week of use it had developed a nasty bit of mold, and so I broke it up and put it in the freezer. Here it is before I nuked it until it boiled. It gets discolored after every use, and especially now after the mold, but it worked just fine! Hopefully I killed enough of the mold to keep it around for a few more days. Artist Carolyn Kimball is coming over on Monday for some jello fun, so I need it to last the weekend!

Ok, this is totally unrelated to printmaking, but I can't resist talking about the pancakes we had this morning. The recipe was given to me by a friend that got it from her sister-in-law. I've made a few of my own changes and I decided to share it with the world. I have a weakness for oatmeal and I've blogged about it before, and if you try these pancakes, I think you'll agree that the oatmeal makes them especially fantastic!

Oatmeal Pancakes
2 c. milk of choice
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten
1/3 c oil

Mix together and let sit for 10 mins. Do not over mix. While sitting, oats will soften a bit and the the batter will thicken a bit. Make as usual and enjoy!

This recipe fed the 4 of us. They are dense, chewy, and delicious.