Mark Making with Printing Plates

Rae Missigman has a new kit, and it’s perfect for all your mixed-media creations! Rae Missigman’s Paint, Stencil, Stitch Kit includes her four new videos, four Art Lessons, plus her Boxy Blooms Stamp Set and three of her stencils from StencilGirl Products! Here’s Rae to tell you about a fun technique for printing and creating unique marks.

I think of creating as something akin to a craving. There are days that I just cannot get enough of it. I think that mark making is a big part of what satisfies that craving. Mark making is mostly producing a series of repetitive marks or shapes, but no matter how often I re-create those same marks, I find myself counting along. In a rhythmic trance, I put pen or brush to paper. This is a soothing process for me, and a big part of what makes it a comforting and rewarding task.

As a mark maker I love to experiment with tools and techniques in the studio. I’m a big fan of breaking the rules and using what I have, always exploring and pushing my tools to do new or interesting things. Gel printing plates are one of my favorite go-to tools. With this tool I am able to get lots of color down quickly, stumble upon mysterious marks and color patterns, and fill loads of blank pages and canvases—all the while satisfying that craving to create.

Because I like to mix and match my tools and see what they can do, I found that I love stamping on the printing plate.

For this technique, load your plate with acrylic paint and brayer the plate to mix the colors. Next, choose a favorite stamp (I used a flower from my Boxy Blooms™ stamp set) and gently press it into the paint. Repeat, moving the stamp around the plate.

Using analogous colors of acrylic paint onto a round gel plate guarantees you won’t get mud.
Using analogous colors of acrylic paint onto a round gel plate guarantees you won’t get mud.

Press a sheet of paper onto the plate, pull the print, and discover all the interesting color and pattern combinations.

You’ll always get surprising results when mark making with a gel plate.
You’ll always get surprising results when mark making with a gel plate.

Lastly, before the paint dries, stamp directly onto the page or canvas with the same stamp you just used to create ghost-like images. I love all the random effects I can achieve this way.

Create more mark making with the stamp and leftover paint.
Create more mark making with the stamp and leftover paint.

I used this tiny print to create a mixed-media card. I filled in the white space with paint, using my favorite One Brush Wonder technique (you’ll find that in my One Brush Wonder video). I also sewed on a piece of painted collage paper and hand-dyed ribbon, and finished off the card with a few journaled words. The details are in the marks, so remember to make your own! Now you have a lovely card to share with a friend.

Here I used the printed paper to adorn a unique card that I further embellished with more mark making.
Here I used the printed paper to adorn a unique card that I further embellished with more mark making.

—Rae

There is no limit to what you can do if you experiment with your supplies. Dig in and really get to know them, and along the way you might just discover something unique about yourself in your mark making!

Rae Missigman's Paint, Stencil, Stitch Kit
Rae Missigman’s Paint, Stencil, Stitch Kit includes four videos, four Art Lessons, plus Rae’s stamps and stencils.

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