We had a great time when Vaibhavi showed us a variety of techniques and shared tips on gelli plate printing in October – see details of her demonstration here. These notes are based on her tips…
Gelli printing is a form of mono printing that uses a reusable, flexible, silicone-free plate to create textured, layered prints on paper or fabric without a traditional press.
Use acrylic paint – and NO water.
Use good quality gelli plates e.g. Gelli Arts. They come in various shapes and sizes. Poor quality plates (e.g from Temu) don’t clean well, feel sticky to the touch and the paper tends to stick and tear, even when using the same amount of paint.
Use wipes and then newspaper to clean plates. Clean your brayer (roller) on paper or newspaper.
Never rest you brayer on the actual roller – this can lead to slight dents and therefore uneven application. Always turn the roller over and rest it on it’s back.
Put paint on the plate in dots and spread with a roller. A little goes a long way – if you get lines in the paint when you’re rolling, there’s too much paint.
Vaibhavi used cartridge paper for her printing. You can put leaves etc. on the paint to give a print with blank areas the shape of the leaves. You can also use various things to create patterns in the paint ready for the print e.g. various combs, palette knife, stencils… take care not to damage the surface of the plate when creating patterns, although the plates are pretty sturdy.
Put your paper on the plate and rub gently with a flat hand, taking it off quickly – but carefully… You can often do a second print from the paint remaining on the plate – known as a ghost print.
Once the paint is dry, you can build more layers of paint to create complex, unique prints. If you have used leaves or other items to build texture, the paint on these can also be used for printing.
