Gelli Plate Fun

At long last my Gelli Arts Gelli Plate has arrived! I got the smallest (6" x 6") size and while I love it, after only using it twice I am sure I want the medium (8" x 10") size. Maybe this summer I'll pick one up while we're in the States, along with some of the cool stencils I've seen online. All of the raves I've read online and heard on YouTube are true! This thing is so amazingly fun and addictive. I have only just barely gotten started using it and I can't wait to play some more. One of the things I was itching to try while I waited for the Gelli Plate to arrive was to use knitting as a texture...I knit up a 7" x 7" piece of 1 x 1 ribbing using up scrap yarn and as you can see in the above photo, the background on the right uses the knitting as a texture. How fun! Now of course I'm dying to knit up all kind of other patterns to try them out on the Gelli Plate. I love the idea of combining two of my favorite hobbies into one project.

One of the other textures I tried and loved was some of that rubber shelf liner. I happened to spot some on a trip to the hardware store with Avi (who of course couldn't figure out why I wanted it, lol).  Part of the challenge is going to be figuring out ways to use these backgrounds...some might get made into cards, others will become backgrounds in my art journal. I have seen people cut up their backgrounds and make them into mosaics, which also looks really cool.

Off to do more mono printing...next post I will catch you up on some of the knitting I've done lately.

In Balance

Over the last several weeks I have been working a lot in my art journal (the composition book given to me by my lovely friend Caroline several years ago). Sometimes I just stipple or sponge ink onto the page before stamping, gluing, doodling, and writing. Other times I glue in pieces of other papers like magazines, gift wrap, etc. and use spray inks. Sometimes I glue two pages together and then put gesso over the page, to make it a bit stronger before I add acrylic paints to make a background. Sometimes I make collages with pictures cut from magazines and my own scribbles.

The book is filling up nicely, getting a bit puffy as you might expect with all the added stuff going into it. I am trying to use many of the supplies that I've been hoarding for years, because really what's the point of having those things if I don't use them? I wonder if it says something about my selfishness that I find it easier to use those hoarded items in the journal rather than on cards, because the journal stays here with me.

I've also been thinking abou the way I go on these jags (remember when your kid would only eat one particular food for awhile, then would switch to something else?). In this case, my jags run from spending most of my time knitting, or making cards, to reading or doing art journaling. I realized that the vast majority of the time, I knit and make cards in order to give those things to other people. I love doing it, it makes me very happy. But sometimes all I want to do is read. That is something that is purely for me. Same with the journaling. I do it to please/amuse myself and no one else.

I guess that makes for a good balance.