Gelli Day – Stencils

How to Cut Stencils with Cricut Machine and making Hand Cut Stencils

On 9th May PPA enjoyed demonstrations of stencil making from Lisa Giles using a Cricut Machine and Gail MacDonald hand cutting stencils using various materials.

There was great interest from 21 members who attended. The Cricut was new to most of us and Lisa explained the fundamentals of designing your own stencil or using a pre-designed stencil template which is part of the Cricut suite. The design is loaded onto a laptop computer (1) and the machine is prepared by attaching the substrate (generally light card) onto a Cricut mat (2) which holds it in place. The machine can cut (using a Cricut) blade or draw (using a Cricut pen) onto the card. If the machine is used to draw the stencil, a second ‘pass’ is required to cut the design out.

Cricut Machine with laptop – Mat & Card set up to cut stencils – Shapes stripped from stencils can be used also

Students attentive to demonstration

Different materials for achieving a stencil

Gayle discussing hand cut stencil methods

Cutting a hand drawn shape

Examples of hand cut stencils using sharp scalpel
cut from – plastic sleeves, Manila folders, light cardstock

After Lisa and Gayle had demonstrated their stencil making methods, PPA members began applying what they had learnt and had a great time cutting and then printing from their stencils.

Cricut stencil print from Gelli plate

Four Cricut stencils Gelli printed

Hand cut stencil – Gayle

Hand cut stencil – Shamim

These beautiful Gelli prints (left and below) were done using hand made stencils made on the day of the demonstration.

This method of producing beautiful complex Gelli prints is
an exciting way to test your creativity and stretch the limits
of layering your prints.

The next ‘Gelli Day’ at Primrose Paper Arts will be on Thursday 13th June 2024 at Primrose Park from 10am – 2pm. Focussing on Textures and Mark Making on the Gelli Plate.

Bring your basic Gelli printing kit and any textures or mark making tools you have found work well for you. If you have a texture or mark making item you would like to share, please bring it along. The group app ‘Excited by Paper’ will post a reminder the week before. Members are welcome to attend, no booking required.

Happy Gelli Print creating!

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Collage Workshop – an exciting approach to this technique with Shahroud Ghahani

Where: At Primrose Park
When: Saturday, 8th June 2024
Time: 10am – 4pm
Cost: Members $110/Non-members $150
Maximum number: 8 attendees

Note:
Go to the workshop tab on menu bar to complete the sign-up form and pay to secure your place.

Shahroud Ghahani is an Iranian-Australian visual artist based on Gadigal land. Her artworks bridge together rich images from disparate cultures and her experiences of them.

She holds a Master of Art from the University of New South Wales, Arts, Design and Architecture and has had her work exhibited in galleries across Australia. 

She has been a finalist in various art prizes and recently has won the 2024 Grace Cossington Smith Biennial Art Award in the local artist category.

https://www.shahroudghahani.com
https://www.instagram.com/shahroud_ghahani

Materials list to come

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Gelli Print Print Day – featuring Botanicals

11th April 2024

The botanical gelli print day was a very enjoyable time of learning and experimenting for 17 PPA members who brought in plant materials; weeds, leaves and seaweed – there was even some Spanish Moss.
All of which provided some beautiful prints. Members shared tips and we discussed methods of registering prints, cleaning rollers, applying transparent layers over prints and tried out some transparent metallics.

Our next Gelli Day- Thursday 9th May – will feature both hand cutting stencils and using a ‘Cricut’ machine to cut stencils, all the more to add to Gelli creativity.

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PPA Print Club

The Print Club at PPA Cremorne on 17th April 2024 was well attended.

Ten members enjoyed a stimulating session. We learnt two plate registration.

Big thanks to Robert Ives! 

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Paper Pulp Play Day No 2

8th April Primrose Park

The second paper pulp play day was enjoyed by 15 members

Play Day was great fun today. Fifteen members caught up with each other and made some wonderful things. A few made sheets of paper, some made 3D works, others were experimenting with strips and woven items. We had a young visitor who made some lovely sheets. There was lots of chatter and laughter. A great day and we look forward to the next one.

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Airspace Group Show

Featuring PPA member Mandy Burgess

Image from Airspace Exhibition – Cyanotype on mulberry paper by Mandy Burgess

For more information about the exhibition click: https://www.airspaceprojects.com.au

Book Making- Primrose Paper Arts Southern Group

Primrose in the South, for members only
Saturday 30th March, from 10 am, duration 3-4 hours
At Woodie’s Cubby House, 
88A Como Road, Oyster Bay

Access is through the gateway into the carpark in front of the building

Join us for an enjoyable few hours in a casual session making a book. This time we will attempt a book using 2-thread coptic binding. If this doesn’t appeal to you, you could finish off books you already have started, or repeat a form you have done before. There is no charge. Bring your lunch.

4 Needle Coptic Binding, showing spine

Please RSVP to primrosepaper@y7mail.com

Materials:

These are for an A5 or similar sized book; or adjust the materials for the page size you want to bind. Bear in mind that the pages are folded. PPA will provide thread and glue.

• pages for your book: aim for 10 signatures, e.g. 10 sheets of A4 (or similar sized) watercolour paper, approx 250 gsm. We will fold the sheets in half for the finished book. Or you can use thinner paper, as long as the number of folded pages is divisible by the number of signatures you are making, and the stack ends up being at least 12 mm thick.
• enough thick cardboard to make 2 covers, each to be slightly bigger than the page size. If you can only find thinner cardboard, bring that, or enough to be glued double.
• 4 needles with eyes big enough for say, 6-stranded embroidery thread
• an awl
• cutting knife
• metal ruler
• cutting mat
• decorated paper for the cover, enough for 2 pieces approx A4 size for the covers, or the size of the cover plus approx 2.5 mm bigger all round.
• decorated paper for the inside cover, 2 pieces the size of your pages. 
• brush for gluing, tall container for water.

4-Needle Coptic Bound Book

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Mezzanine Exhibition Opening

‘My Favourite Things’ 7th March 2024
At Primrose Park, Midora Lane, Cremorne

Friends, food and discussion at exhibition opening

An enjoyable evening was attended by friends, family and members of PPA. Exhibiting artists were in attendance and happily discussed their artwork.

Artwork by Sydney Pemberton

Members were encouraged to include samples of their favourite Gelli Prints which were arranged in an arresting display by Gail MacDonald.

Primrose Paper arts welcomes everyone who would like to visit the exhibition which will be on display until the morning of Thursday March 28th.

Some of the works are available for sale.
Members are in the studio Monday and Thursday.

Paper Pulp Play

11th March Primrose Park

An exciting day learning methods of using pulp in different ways

Participants learnt how to make bases to coat in pulp, either string grids or wire shapes. Also shaping pulp on a frame to achieve interesting designs. If you think of pulp purely as a means to make sheets of paper (which is great) then add these exciting possibilities to your creative store of ideas is a real plus!

Thank you Dinah for leading this great ‘Paper Pulp Play Day’.

PPA Print Club

March 10th 2024 at Primrose Park

We had a very interesting Print Club on Sunday 10 March.

Robert Ives assists Juni with her Cyanotype

We played with Cyanotype printing which was wonderful.

Beautiful Cyanotypes

Different sizing of the paper was explored and drypoint printing was further enjoyed.

Midori’s drypoint Prints

Thank you, Robert, for bringing a lot of joy to the print making processes!