While I love making prints on paper with my Gelli Arts® plates and making books, I also love creating blocks from dried acrylic paints either left over or painted specifically for removing with tape.  Sounds confusing?  Yes, but really simple.

Here's how I do it.
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I pour a few dots of different color acrylic paint onto a Gelli Arts 12" x 14" plate, brayer it so the paint covers the entire plate, add some surface texture (bubble wrap, etc) and let it completely dry.  Sometimes, that only takes an hour or so, depending on the paint, and sometimes, I leave it overnight.

The solid wooden blocks I prefer measure 1-1/2" since that is also the size of my packing tape although I have also made 1" blocks and 3" blocks.

First, I paint all sides of the blocks with white gesso.  But if you prefer a more rustic/organic look, you could leave them natural brown.

Once dry, I paint one side of the block with white glue (I use Elmers).  I lay the packing tape down on the Gelli plate and pick up the dried paint.  I put the tape onto the glue and press down.  I trim off the excess tape with a utility knife and continue adding tape to each side of the cube.  

Here are some closes up of a couple more cubes.

I hope you try this and have as much fun with this technique as I do!

What IS it about these small Inspirational Tab books that fascinate me?

Brown has never been my most inspiring color but now I don't want to work with anything else.  It's funny how things can change so quickly.

There is something about creating contemporary art that uses old ideas.  And brown seems to tie this all together.  

I'm going to make more of these and will sell them in my store in case anyone else has my passion and wants to own one or give one as aa gift to a special friend.

But it might take me a couple of weeks since I will be teaching at Mixed Media Adventures this week!

I'm still in love with creating art using shipping tags.

My latest idea is to create a set of Inspirational Art Prompts that can be used to get us out of our artistic slump or times when we have no new ideas or our brains are paralyzed.

There are many websites that generate art prompts but I thought I would share with you, the prompts I actually use in my creative life so I've stitched up these fabric tags and added some text.

Part of what inspires me is fabric!  (Surprise!!!)  My sister bought me several FQ's from her trip to Australia last year and I decided to use these for the basis of my Inspirational Tags.  I have always loved the Aboriginal art form so just looking and feeling this fabric started my creative juices flowing (love those dots!) 

I'm still working through this process and when I'm satisfied, I will offer them in my store.  But I wanted to give you a preview into what I'm working on now!

I love working with Gelli® printing.  I have lots of gel-printed papers and decided to make these forms from left-over cardboard tubes that many of my decorative yarns come wound on.  (I guess I should confess -- I never throw anything away!) I painted the inside and outside of the cardboard tube with black acrylic paint, cut the papers to size, and then glued them to the outside using gel medium.  I also covered the outside surface with gel medium to protect the paper from wear and tear.
Loved how they turned out and just wish my hand was smaller so I could wear these as bracelets!
Sigh.
https://www.gelliarts.com/

The first Tuesday in September is Art Drop Day.  That's when artists all over the world leave a piece of their art in a public place for someone to discover and keep.  For free.  This event was started by Jake Parker.  For more info, visit his website
https://www.mrjakeparker.com/art-drop-day

I've been participating for 4 years and once again, will leave this piece of my fiber art around the pavilion in Cheesman Park, Denver, CO at about 10am.  Meet me there!

Check out these hashtags to see what's happening this Tuesday.
#artdropdenver
#artdropday

I hope you find a piece of art on Tuesday.  Keep your eyes peeled!