Why Play with Printmaking?
Linda Germain has been called the “queen of Gelatin Printmaking” by a few folks online. She has accepted the crown and wears it with a smile.
She has been making prints since 2007, when she explored the process with the help of the book Making Monotypes with a Gelatin Plate by her friend and colleague Nancy Marculewicz.
Linda took her time getting to being an active artist and teacher. First, she chose to become a lawyer and practiced real estate law for 9 years. The law and other people’s conflicts was not her passion.
So she moved to the wilderness of Maine and became a whitewater raft guide, and ski pro. The party life of rafting and skiing was not the perfect fit either, so she started taking foundation art courses. Linda had always done something creative or artistic along the way.
She oil painted with her grandmother as child.
Linda explored black and white photography for many years.
She dabbled in water color in college.
Ms. Germain had a line of polar fleece creations when Malden Mills had the fabulous outlet store in Lawrence.
While in Maine, Linda dove in to quilt making and art quilts.
Linda had the perfect teachers when she started taking college art courses. She was encouraged to explore and develop her mark making skills. She took an intro to printmaking class at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA. The challenge was to keep making prints once the class ended. That is when she found gelatin printmaking.
Gelatin Printmaking was the perfect fit for Linda’s creative expression:
it is low tech and readily available
inexpensive and able to print at home
it is fast and feedback is immediate
gelatin printmaking can create fabulous detail without a press
it is responsive and unpredictable
it is fluid and ever changing
allows for incorporation of found objects and tools
Most recently Linda Germain has taught gelatin printmaking at these locations
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts for the Maine Craft Association, Maine
Women Printmakers of Austin, Texas
Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA
Shoetown Arts, Haverhill, MA
Artist’s Playground, Newburyport, MA
Lynn Arts, Lynn, MA
She has given artist’s demonstrations for the following groups:
Melrose Arts
Newburyport Art Association
Creative Haverhill
The Art Room, Topsfield MA
Essex Art Center, Lawrence, MA
Ms. Germain loves gelatin printmaking and the possibilities it creates. She is currently teaching small classes from her studio in Haverhill, MA. If you would like more information or like Linda to teach at your venue then please email her Linda [!at] LindaGermain.com
