I love patterned papers – all those delightful, colourful designs. That is where I started with collage before including book pages/newsprint/music sheets/serviettes. And then I discovered something new to collage with in my art journaling – gelli printing. I have since made several art journal pages by collaging with gelli prints …
Different Ways to use Gelli Printing in Your Art Journal
- Collage – creating prints and then tearing them up and reassembling on your page
- Create the imagery on the gelli plate and then frame in your journal
- Prepare your plate and then print directly in your journal – this is a bit like stamping and you can get various sized plates to make it easier
(If you can think of any more please comment below xx)
How to use your Gelli Plate
There are different approaches for using a gelli plate. One is to take the prints background first and take subsequent prints on top of this. Another way is to layer the paint on the plate, letting each layer dry and adding the background last before pulling the print. I show both ways in the video below. You can also make marks and designs on your plate using combs or draw with a skewer or brush handle.
Supplies to Get You Started
- Gelli plate
- Paints
- Brayer
- Deli paper
- Baby wipes
- Stencils
- Mark making tools like combs, brush handles, stamps
Alternatives to Gelli Plate
Gelli plate printing is basically monoprinting in that you can pull a print once off a surface with a possible second ‘ghost’ print that is much lighter than the first. As such you can try different surfaces for this like acrylic sheets or silicon baking sheets. Acrylic/plexiglass or glass sheets are hard and this will effect the quality of the print you can take. Silicon sheets are softer and worth a try. If you really want a deep soft plate try making your own gelatin plate (the original version) with gelatin and glycerin. There is a brilliant instruction here.
I hope this helps you get started with gelli printing. It’s a really fun technique that you can do for its own sake as well as for art journaling.
Hugs, Ceri xx
