Art Practical: Gel Plate Printing

Gelatine plate printing is a modern form of print making without the use of a press. The surface of the plate is quite soft and flexible and enables good prints to be pulled. You can buy a gel plate but I will also post a recipe on Canvas if you would like to make your own at a fraction of the cost of a commercial gel plate. During this session we will explore and develop ways of printing to include resist techniques, use of stencils and masked areas. You will design and cut your own stencils, explore use of colour, experiment with different surfaces and learn how to crop your most pleasing results to create mini-artworks. You can use acrylic paint or ready mix paints. Photocopy paper is a good source of inexpensive paper as it gives good results and you will produce many prints. Your resulting prints can be used in collage work, framed as an artwork in their own right or why not use them to produce your own greetings cards.