Visual Journal with Gel Plate

I am putting together a little series of visual journals in preparation for Unbinding the Visual Journal, which I'm teaching on:

• July 19 at CREATE in Somerset, NJ
• August 23 at CREATE in Chicago
• September 9 at Random Arts in Saluda, NC

First I paint, draw, collage, print, or otherwise decorate the unbound folios, or pages.  Then I bind them into a book format, and use the painted pages as starting points for visual exploration.  This is akin to making Scribble Paintings that I cut up and use for collage.  In the following video I use the Gelli Arts gel plate to print on some papers that will end up in my book.

These are a few of the papers on which I used the gel plate.  After printing, I added painting and drawing, leaving room for more painting, drawing, and collage once the book is put together.

There are way more techniques you can use with the gel plate on the Gelli Arts Blog.  For some great tutorials on simple ways to make books, see Sue Bleiweiss's blog, and then buy her book.

Stay tuned for the second part of this post, in which I will show you the book and discuss how I use it.

Sketch-In and Sketchbook Practices

Since The Sketchbook Challenge began last January I've been thinking about how I use and don't use a sketchbook. What is a sketchbook? How do artists use them? How is it different from an "art journal"? These are questions I've pondered over the year without forcing any answers.

To express your thoughts on the topic, click here to take a brief survey.

At Ink About It over the weekend, Sue Bleiweiss and I conducted a Sketch-In. We did lots of drawing exercises:

Then worked with watercolor, experimenting with materials:


And working from still life:
On the second day we painted papers:

Using various brands and types of acrylic paint:
Look at us all having FUN!
Here I am demonstrating something brilliant, I'm sure:

And this is Sue Bleiweiss with Lori, one of the owners of Ink About It.
Then Sue gave us a great little tutorial on making a quick and easy hard-cover book. She brought book kits for everybody, and people used their painted papers for covers and end-papers. What a creative and productive weekend! Check out Sue's free projects to find this book tutorial and many others.

Panel Book Tutorial

A number of you have expressed interest in the Panel Book, so I finally got my act together enough to take a few photos and post a tutorial. This is not my invention, and I learned it from Elissa Campbell, at Blue Roof Designs, who contributed a gorgeous example to my book, Adventures in Mixed Media. Here's what you do:

1. Cut a piece of watercolor or other heavy paper 8"x22". Fold a 1/2" tab on one end; then measure three 7" sections and make folds at the three 7" marks. This should give you another 1/2" tab at the other end of the sheet of paper. You can cut an angle at the top and bottom of the 1/2" tabs if you like. Here is what it looks like:

Click on the diagram, or any of the photos, to get a larger image.

It is 8" high, so each panel is 8"x7", and each tab extends 1/2" at each end.

2. Repeat. Now you have two accordion pieces each with three panels. Here is how it looks folded:


3. Before joining the two accordion pieces, giving you a 6-panel book, mark and cut each panel according to the diagram:

The fold line is in the MIDDLE of the 7" panel.
First mark it like this with a pencil:


Then cut on the red lines indicated in this diagram:


Here is what it looks like, cut but not folded yet:

4. Now fold at the fold lines, but not on the panel itself. I do this by folding the page so that the creases on either side line up, leaving the panel flat.

Here is what it looks like standing up after you've folded it:


5. Repeat the marking, cutting, and folding on all six panels. You may want to mark them all first, then cut them all, then fold. In any case, you end up with two accordion folds, each with three panels.

6. Join the two accordions together by cutting one tab off of ONE of them. Glue the tab of the other to the non-tabbed end of the first one. Make sure your panels are all lining up the same way.

7. Make two book boards that are 8.25" tall x 5.5" wide. Cover one side with decorative paper (I'm not including instructions for that here. If you need them, e-mail or leave a comment). Cut end papers (or cover linings) that are 1/4" smaller than the book boards, 8"x5.25". Check to make sure they fit. BEFORE gluing down the end papers, glue the end tabs of your accordion onto the book boards. The tabs are sandwiched between the book board and the end paper. Maybe these photos will make it clear. Here's a top view:


And a view from inside the back cover:


And here is a top view of the finished book, showing off the panel configuration.


Let me know if any of this needs further explanation. Thanks for visiting!