A Gel Plate print
Hectographs
Earlier this week I took part in a workshop at Université Sainte-Anne led by Denise Comeau, a noted local printmaker and painter. The workshop was on the use of a Gel Plate, which I was introduced to by my sister Lisa last year. Denise and Lisa use the process to create wonderful patterns on paper and then use their artistic talent to also paint or draw in things on the colourful paper. My interest is in what is known as a Hectograph – a print made from the Gel transfer – using my own photographs as the “top” layer.
The image this week is an example of the kind of patterns and art one can produce by learning the technique for making the background to “pull” off the Gel plate and is what Denise’s class taught us. I am now working on making more subtle backgrounds for essentially colourizing the paper and then I’m also experimenting with transferring a print to the Gel so that the coloured paper (once dry) could then be the background of the Hectograph photo print.
It's always fun to learn new art forms, it will be interesting to see what I can do with this new to me technique.
Stay Tuned!
