Introduction to Printing with a Gel Plate

In this example I have limited the paint palette to orange, citrus and green. I have created a range of simple stamped textures then cut out hexagons centred over the textures I wanted to preserve. These have been paper pieced together and are now waiting to be applied to a base substrate for a cushion. Then I will quilt the cushion front before completing the project

Most of us have played around with stamping as a child or with our children and this is where it starts with the gel plate.

First I need to explain there are two types of gel plate. One is the type that is made from gelatine and set in a tray in your kitchen This plate will work well but over time it may begin to develop cracks as it dries out and will need to be melted down and reset. The second type is a commercially prepared plate that is based on gelatine but has other factors added to it so that it remains stable. These are relatively stable but last indefinitely. Do not try to melt down a commercially prepared plate. I have always worked on a commercially prepared plate as my printing forays on the gel plate are spasmodic, usually dictated by a project I have in mind that I want to create some individual fabric for. Both types of plates give great results. The softness on the gel allows imprints to be made on the medium of the plate that can then be “pulled” off on various papers and fabric.

Note from the outset that to get good prints on fabric you may need to allow a longer bonding time than with paper substrates. I did not know this when I started so some of my early fabric prints were disappointing. It takes longer for the bond between fabric and paint to develop. Best prints are made when the fabric is dry before it is pulled. Layers of acrylic bonds can be made but each layer must be completely dry before the next is added. If you want to add a clear layer (say when using a mask) you can apply gel medium to the plate which will look white on applicated but dries clear. Masks (shapes placed on the plate to act as a resist) can be used to create interesting silhouettes within the layers. As long as each layer is allowed to dry first, you can add acrylic layers to the plate and then “pull” them off all together in one go.

Stamps or textures can be made with a wide variety of items - many of them hiding in your household cupboards - anything that has a texture will provide a print and once you have the dried print on fabric/paper you can further utilise these in journals or quilts to your liking. In one of the images below I show a variety of things that would be fine for adding texture. You can use just one item at a time or create a composition of textures to be pulled all together. Grasses and foliage are one of my favourites and you can see some of those in the gallery below. Lace, supermarket trays, bubble wrap, even the hospital socks with the grips on the foot and shapes cut out and stuck onto a recycled cardboard base will all give great textures. Masks can be made by tracing silhouettes from photos or using children’s foam shapes. Let your mind wander freely. I have a large plastic container of texture items in my studio that I periodically have to go through to make sure it is not getting out of hand.

The other thing you will need is a firm brayer. Brayers are like a paint roller in miniature and come in various strengths. The brayer is used to spread the paint evenly over the surface of the gel plate to get a consistent covering to stamp into. A few dobs of acrylic paint at the top of the gel plate and a light hand on the brayer are all that is required. When cleaning the brayer take particular care that the round edges on the side of the brayer are cleaned of paint as a build up of paint on the edges makes it difficult to get a smooth finish - you will get lines in your paint smoothing no matter how light a hand you use on the brayer.