A representative from the Gelli Arts company emailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I wanted to try one of their gel printing plates and of course, I said yes, because I love free stuff. I had seen these on a few different mixed media blogs and my curiosity was piqued, but I shied away from them because of the price. Yesterday, I received two printing plates. One to try out and one to give away to the readers on my blog! If you would like a chance to win, comment below and I will randomly draw a winner.
I pulled out the gel printing plate to try during one of my very small classes today and the kids loved it. They loved the gelly texture of the plate.
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| Roll the paint onto the gel plate with a brayer. Then, use objects to gently press texture into the plate. |
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| Place the paper onto the plate and rub the back. |
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| Peel it off and there’s the print! |
The texture shows up really nice. I like how you don’t need to use printing ink, but just regular acrylic paint. After lifting two prints, the plate is pretty much sucked clean, so there wasn’t a lot of clean up for the plate.
** EDIT: I will ship outside the U.S., so anyone can enter. You don’t have to be a follower of my blog… but I always love new readers! The plates are REUSEABLE. You can use them over and over again. If you press too hard (like scratching it with a pencil) the texture will stay and imprint on to future prints. We used ours several times already and the texture has erased clean. I’m planning on buying one for about every 3 kids and then the kids can take turns using them. ***
I would love love love to try this with my preschoolers! So fun! I follow you via google reader!
I had never heard of gelli plates. I would love to try this with my printmaking club!
I have tried to win one of these great Gelli plates before. I hope I can win one eventually!
Thanks for posting.
This look like they'd be fun for all grades! Would love to win one to try out with my students!
I've never tried this but the results look great.
What a wonderful giveaway!
I've read about these also and have always been curious to try. Thanks for the chance!!
Is your giveaway open to Canadians? I haven't found them here in Canada and would love to win one!
I so want to try this. Question, are the re-usable? Or once the texture is in them is that pretty much it?
A friend of mine tried this with homemade gelatin plates. If this is similar, it is an awesome process.
As an art teacher and a printmaker, I'm always excited about new ways to introduce printmaking to my students. I would LOVE to try this out. Thanks for the chance.
I love printmaking! I've seen these before but never had a chance to try them!
I'm always up for trying new products – especially ones like this that are re-usable! This would add another element to printmaking with my students…
I found a tutorial for gelatin plates on You Tube but this sounds so much easier! I'd love to win and thanks for the generous giveaway!
:)pat
These Geli plates remind me of jello prints I had tried once. The only problem with jello printing is that you only get 1-2 pulls from it before it falls apart. These look really interesting, even if I don't win I may order some and try them out. Thanks for sharing!
Ooooh this looks great and it looks like a better way than creating your own gelatine plates the day before. I would love to try these. I wonder if there is an Australian version of these…
I never heard about these until about a month ago and I'm definitely intrigued! I haven't checked prices yet but I like the idea of just ordering enough that the students could take turns. They seem to like watching their classmates work when there is a surprise involved!
This could be perfect for my fourth and fifth graders. I have been considering dabbling in the gelatin prints and this would be perfect.
I look forward to the opportunity to win!
Does the gel dry up? Can it be reused once it is dry? How dense is the gel, did it hold it's shape after the paper was pressed?
The gel doesn't dry up. It can be reused over and over again. It's pretty firm. It works like monoprinting on a plate. If you go to their website you can see videos of it.
Sweet, Thanks so much! This is great for art teachers on little to no budget!
I would love to try the Gelli method. Sign me up! (p.s. I follow your blog on Google reader)
Rina
Looks like a neat tool. Would love to try it with my kids.
what is the name /brand of the textured bracers used by the kids in this article?
I don't see where it says if this giveaway is closed, but I would love to win it! I echo the previous comment, where do you buy the bracers?
brayer, sorry
I just found your site today, and am so inspired! I love your projects, especially because they are allow the students to explore the process of art in many different ways. Great job!