After the usual trial & error, I finally managed a printing session at home with a gelatin plate, and the textured results were worth the wait.

I followed the steps and tips on Linda Germain’s blog, Printmaking without a Press. Biggest tip: natural-foods-store vegan gelatin will NOT do. Oh, what a blobby mess that was! On the positive side, waiting till the (real) gelatin is breaking down gave wonderful results, as promised.

I’ve scanned the prints to use as layers in my digital art, and I will find a way to use the paper as a collage element somewhere too.

This experiment has given me a way back into printmaking, but is part of a larger quest for texture, as seen on Martha Marshall’s blog, An Artist’s Journal. Her recent posts on working in the kitchen and aging paper in her garden are most inspiring.

I’m always drawn to photos of texture, of course. What other options should I look at to find texture for my work?