Getting more mobile here - posting this from my iPad.
In preparing new illustration boards for the next in the metal point Banyan series I spend a couple of days shaking up the bottle of Golden's Silver Point Ground. Six or seven times a day I give it a really hard shake and then stand it on its head in a cup - thus the illustrated sketch above. After several days of this, all of the pigment is suspended and I can go ahead and begin coating my board. The whole process of preparation takes a week or so - including at least 4 coats of ground.
The above sketch was painted in a "Terraskin" sketchbook. It's actually made of stones. Great stuff - it will take silver point, watercolor (though watercolor will lift easily again), pencils of course, acrylic and oil paints without any preliminary gesso. Very cool stuff!