Gelli Arts GL8X10 8"x10" Plate, Multicolour

Product Information

According to The Printmaking Bible, a monoprint and monotype are created by placing an image on a surface and the print that is produced cannot be exactly replicated. The gel printing plate is made of a unique plastic that contains mineral oil. The gel plate will leach a small amount of harmless mineral oil when left sitting on an absorbent surface. YOU DON'T! You can make gel prints with any tool, paint and try any idea or technique - this is what gel printing is about. Discover, experiment and be creative!

Students can embellish or draw on their print or even just enhance patterns and designs created through the printing process. They can add text as well. Supply students with broad and thin line markers and Sharpies, oil pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, pencils, and any other drawing materials of your choice. While all of these materials are not necessary, it is good to have at minimum two options. We tried lots of other techniques with our Gelli Plate too, such as drawing into the paint with the end of a paintbrush, graduating the paint in stripes on the plate, and overlaying lots of different textures on top of one another. Working with Gelli Plates is really addictive!Bamboo Rayon: I really liked the way my image was really clear on this fabric; I was not sure about the rayon blend and it was really thin as well Gel Press Gel Printing Plates are a modern take on traditional gelatin printing. They offer many benefits over printing on plexiglass or gelatin. They’re also non-toxic, latex-fee and 100% vegan! Unlike some traditional printing techniques, monoprinting with a Gel Plate doesn’t require any sort of press. You just need your plate, some paint and a surface to print onto and you’re good to go. They’re also infinitely reusable! Just clean your plate with soap and water after use, allow to dry and it’s ready to go for your next printmaking session.

Dyes are not recommended (e.g. rubber stamp inks, spray inks or fabric dyes) as the gel will absorb some of the dye and become stained. However, stains will not affect printing performance. Before we start discussing gelli plate printing, let’s start with the elephant in the room. Is gelli printing a monoprint or a monotype?The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, although they are not exactly the same thing. First of all it's reverse and second you build layers that you don't know how will look together once you are finished.

How to Make Gelli Prints

A: We recommend acrylic paints. Everyone seems to have their favorite brands, so experiment with yours! Liquitex Basics, DecoArt, and Americana are excellent paints for monoprinting on the Gelli® plate. Inexpensive craft paints are another option, but you have to work pretty fast. You can slow the drying time by adding a retarder, acrylic glaze medium or Golden Open Medium to any acrylic paints. Golden Open Acrylics are perfect if you want to use highly pigmented paint with a longer workable time. The easiest layer is to just roll in the Gelli plate with paint, put a piece of paper on it, and press it with your hands or a brayer. The result will be a more or less even covering of paint. We tried to get our bear down in the same place but ended up with a slightly mis-registered print. We’re still quite fond of him though.

It’s a good idea to give a demonstration to be sure your kids understand the whole concept of gelli printing. The whole process is really amazing to watch and I’m sure the kids will have questions. Lightly roll the brayer over the paint, working it towards the edges until the paint is spread all the way across the pad. Many materials will work and create great prints however they might stain the plate. However staining will not affect the quality of printing and usually can be cleaned. Magnet Painting– For another fun process art project that adds a little science, try this Magnet Painting activity! It’s a perfect Five Minute STEAM Project! Oil paints can be cleaned from the gel printing plate with baby oil and wiped clean with a paper towel.Keeping the brayer on the plate when rolling it. Remove the brayer from the plate at the end of a stroke so that the paint is better distributed;