On our second full day of Studio Sessions, we discovered even more techniques to add to our toolbox as we further explored the wonders of gelatin printing (this was the Year of the Gel Print, after all!) with Michelle. Everyone was amazed about being able to use black Magnum Sharpie markers to create patterns directly on the plate, letting it dry, then adding a layer of paint. There were amazed exclamations, and shocked, excited faces when the resulting prints were pulled. Everyone was eager to try her hand at it, and also combined marker with stencils and stamping on the gel plate with beautiful results.

Gel printing can cause you to lose track of time—many minutes (or hours!) can go by as you create gorgeous, textured, patterned papers which are uniquely yours (just one more! just one more!). We pulled ourselves away to enjoy a hearty lunch, then went right back to it. During the afternoon session, we turned our attention to what we’d use our papers to create: large wooden letters mounted on or inside frames. And as always, the results were spectacular: each initial reflected its artist’s preferred color palette and her design sensibilities. It was great to see how they came together, and how the seemingly disparate prints could be used in a cohesive and colorful final product.

**Michelle’s and Penny’s sample gel printed and collaged initials hung below the YCC initials created for our first Seaside Sessions retreat in 2020.**

Evening open studio time saw us still pulling prints, deciding how they’d be used on the wooden initials, painting frames, completing flag books, and working on book covers. The creative exchange (a favorite Seaside Sessions tradition) resulted in gifts of photographic greeting card sets, haiku photo prints, fabrics, quilted mug mats, custom designed bookmarks, buttons, fabric dyes, and markers—a veritable bounty of artful goodies!
One more full day remained, and we looked forward to what wonders it would bring….