Old Paper Rejuvenated

Learning from mistakes....that is how this part came to be. I kept thinking of the skulls in yesterday's post and how they had gotten all sloppy from the wash seeping into the back of the paper, and knew that OLD book paper would be much more porous.....so out came the clear gesso.

 

I completely covered the backs of the book pages with the clear gesso and let them dry. The paper does curl, so once completely dried, they got a quick ironing to flatten and then were ready for stamping on the front.
Due to the text, I chose one of my larger stamps....

Same gesso routine....spread it out even....

Stamp firmly....

PRESS....REPEAT TO COVER....

 

And your finished, stamped page should look something like this. I recommend using a dryer on this, as the foam stamps pick up more gesso and those little thick places will take quiet a while to dry on their own.
No photos of watching gesso dry...I mean, I'm sure that would provide too much excitement....LOL!

When starting to paint these, you will find that the paper absorbs the wash at a very fast rate, BUT, that gesso on the back keeps it from seeping through. So paint a section at a time and blot off as before....

....And you will end up with a very definite pattern showing and all the text and also *texture* of the original paper coming through too. And yes, the back side of the paper will be pretty clear; mine just picked up some splatters from my over aggressive paint slopping....

And this is what the paper will look like when finished.
Finished???
It was, until about 5 minutes ago I had one of those *What if....* thoughts and ran to the table.
Due to the support of the clear gesso on the back, you can add a second wash of color on this, letting it feather out with the addition of water, and blotting as usual. No, no photo....I'm fresh from my little experiment.
So, lesson learned. Preparing the BACK of the paper can be as importan as the stamping on the front.

A thought: I am not sure how well this would work on older, thin paper. Due to the nature of a thinner substrate, there would be natural show through, but I encourage experimentation, because the BACK might be more interesting in that case!

And now, for the last part:

The printed tissues.
I do not have the photos done for this section yet, and I have a full day of running today.....so what I am saying is look for this Friday or Saturday, unless some miracle happens here, and don't hold your collective breath for that one!
I am not responsible for anyone turning blue and passing out. ;-D
Go make art~~have fun!!!


Pax....