Two color print using snowflake masks

This week I continued working on the June module of A Year of Gelatin Printing. It focuses on manipulating paper as a printing tool.

We were making masks from folded and cut paper. One example is the paper snowflake (remember those from childhood?). Julie’s instructions said to use copy paper. It’s easy to fold and cut with scissors. She warned that it’s a bit delicate and may tear when it’s wet with paint.

I cut some snowflakes and started to print. I put blue paint on the gelli plate with a brayer, laid the snowflake mask on the plate, and laid a sheet of paper on top. I smoothed it out and pulled the print. It was a good, clean print. The blue paint outlined the shape of the snowflake. So far, so good.

Then I started to remove the mask from the plate. It was stuck! I couldn’t pull it off! So I sprayed the plate with water and rubbed it with a paper towel and picked at it with my fingernail until I got it off in pieces. What a mess! I would recreate it and show you a picture except that I don’t want to go through that again.

Remains of the cheap copy paper mask

What went wrong? Why didn’t it work like Julie’s demo? I checked the copy paper. It’s a bargain brand bright white paper. Compared to some older copy paper in my stash, it feels like it’s lighter weight than the older paper even though both are 20 lb. weight. It also feels like it has some kind of coating or treatment, maybe to make it brighter white? It definitely didn’t work like I expected.

I tried the older copy paper, and it worked better. I still had to be careful peeling it off the plate to keep it from tearing, and it curls up on the edges.

I thought about what other paper I had and decided to try freezer paper. It has a coating on one side, so I thought it might release if I put the slick side down on the gelli plate. In fact, that’s how it worked out. The snowflakes cut from freezer paper came off the plate easily and could be reused.

Freezer paper mask (non-coated side)

Slick side of freezer paper mask after printing.

The ghost print had an interesting texture caused by the paint beading up under the slick paper.

Ghost print showing texture left by freezer paper

This exercise was more about the paper than the design. It’s hard to know how those subtle differences will affect my experience until I try it. I’m glad I didn’t stop at the first try and decide it wouldn’t work. Now I know freezer paper is good for a mask and my mind is starting to spin with design ideas.