Jessica Sanders

Creating Inky Goodness Prints with Alcohol Ink + Silver Mixative

10/31/2015

Hey, guys :)

Happy Halloween! I hope you are having a spooktacular day!

I was originally going to share more about planning today, but due to a Happy Accident in my studio this week, I changed my mind! Instead, I'm sharing my discovery. I also made a video of this technique. Enjoy!

As I've mentioned, I am part of a group called "Creative Sandbox", hosted/mentored by Melissa Dinwiddie. My Monday creative prompt was 'Flow' and Weightlessness'.

I was really excited about this prompt. I especially love the concept of flow! I had been considering these all day -- how to draw or paint them. Finally, at the end of the day, I just decided to play around with my alcohol inks and see what happened- to get into the flow of creativity. I made some floral designs with Oregano, Mushroom, Currant, and a touch of silver Adirondack Alcohol Inks.
As it happened, my silver mixative was clogged...

The silver was what was really calling to me. I tried to unclog it with a toothpick, but it didn't work. Did I mention I have had this bottle of silver for about 4 years? Unwisely, I decided to squeeze the bottle really hard! -- an action I do NOT recommend!

A huge glob of silver spilled out onto my small piece of paper. I was not happy!

I don't like to waste my supplies, so I decided to experiement with it and see what happened. I spread the silver around on the paper, covering the whole sheet. I added drops of Oregano and Plum + Blending Solution. Most of the colored ink sank below the silver. The silver completely took over. :(

And then...

What if? struck me!
What if I could make prints from the excess silver?
I dropped more Blending Solution onto the paper,
laid another sheet of glossy paper over it,
ightly slid my had across to transfer the ink - and - Oh, YES!!

Beautiful, organic, silvery
flowing weightlessness
appeared before my very eyes!

Inky Goodness Alcohol Ink Print 1 - Jessica Sanders

I created 4 prints from the accidental silver. They remind me of Google Earth images.

It was luscious, wonderful, and out of my control.
My favorite way to make art!

The first print had a LOT of silver. I love the lines and patterns that are formed when you lift the paper.

Inky Goodness Alcohol Ink Print 1 detail - Jessica Sanders

I took some detail shots for you :)

Inky Goodness Alcohol Ink Print 4 detail - Jessica Sanders

Inky Goodness Alcohol Ink Print 4 - Jessica Sanders

After several prints, there wasn't much ink coming off of the original sheet of paper. I decided to add a few drops of colored ink, just to see what would happen.

Inky Goodness Alcohol Ink Print 5 with additional ink added - Jessica Sanders

The print picked up the colored ink and the silver, for a really nice effect.

One thing I noticed was that the silver mixative always floated to the top of the other colors of ink. I expected the silver to be below the other colors, since it was on top of the original page, but it didn't work that way.
It's easy to see that in the print above. I dropped the Oregano and Plum on top of the original sheet, so it should have been under the silver on the print..but you can see that it is on top of the colored ink. You can also see that the silver covered over the ink on the piece below. (Sheesh...this is hard to explain!)

It's a good thing to know :)