Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Carter and we're gonna be working together today on our lesson, Selecting and rejecting: using a gelli print.

We're gonna be thinking today about how you can generate prints, and then actually that thought process that goes into deciding if they are successful and what might need to happen to improve them.

To do this, we're gonna start by creating our own set of prints initially.

So there's gonna be quite a lot for us to get through because we're gonna aim to do at least two print runs so that we can actually make those improvements in our work.

You're gonna need to be really reflective and open to thinking about how you can make your work better.

This isn't about being critical, it's about thinking about how we can make things better and striving to make them the best possible versions of our outcomes.

I need you to have a go at all of the tasks and I'm sure we're gonna do some fantastic learning.

Let's get started.

By the end of today's lesson, you're going to be able to say, I can experiment with gelli printing and reflect on and refine my prints.

In order to undertake our learning effectively today, there are some key keywords we need to feel very sure about.

And the first one is gelli printing, which you might have noticed I've said a few times already.

Gelli printing is a process of printmaking making use of a reusable printing surface to create monoprints, and it's a particular type of surface, and we'll talk about it in a minute.

Reflect, so the process of evaluating and learning from experiences to refine skills and creative direction.

And refine, to improve artistic skills, ideas, or techniques through practise and experimentation.

So the difference there is that reflecting is the thought process.

It's the deciding, the working out what you're going to do to make things better, and the refinement is the process by which you then make those things better.

Our lesson's got two learning cycles today.

We're gonna start by experimenting with gelli printing, and we're then gonna move on to reflecting and refining prints.

Let's get started experimenting with gelli printing.

Have a look at this piece.

What draws your attention in this print? Laura shares, "I notice the wide range of textures." Yes, there's almost like fabricy textures right in the background, and then there's definitely the shape and texture of a leaf.

And then we've got a really smooth shape, which is almost the outline of an abstracted leaf shape.

Jun adds, "The contrasting colours catch my eye." And I'm sure he's there talking about that green peeking through with the leaf compared with that orange.

So not strictly complimentary colours, but definitely contrasting.

Did you notice anything else? This is an example of gelli printing.

The plate is made from a flexible, jelly-like material, and it allows artists to press textures into the surface to create prints.

How might a flexible plate improve the printing of textures? What do you think the property of it being movable, it having some flex to it does when you're undertaking that printmaking? Okay, check for understanding time.

True or false? The plate for gelli printing is made of rigid material that prevents artists from pressing textured surfaces into it to create prints.

Pause the video and decide if you think that is a true or false statement.

Well done if you said false.

A gelli printing plate is made of a flexible jelly-like material that captures textures which are pressed into it.

In contrast, a rigid surface wouldn't allow this, resulting in a less effective print.

Gelli printing is a quick process which allows artists to experiment and develop their ideas.

Artists who make use of this process include Delita Martin, who combined gelli printing with mixed media in her work "The moon and the little bird" from 2018.

Drew Steinbrecher builds and layers shapes, textures, and colours in his gelli printing works.

Creating texture and layering of work can be an important skill for many artists, including: Lubaina Himid's "A Rake's Progress: Hole in her stocking 3" from 2022 layers imagery, pattern, and colour.

John Gibbons created "Toft" in 2018, which overlaps multiple screen printed layers.

Gelli printing is a quicker process than the above and can allow for greater experimentation and immediate reflection and refinement.

The process of gelli printing can be a little bit like this.

So you lay down the objects or a stencil and roll it over the top with acrylic paint.

Can you see the plate in the background? It's like a clear jelly.

You then remove the objects or the stencils that you've created and allow that acrylic paint to dry.

Might be a good idea here to use a hairdryer just to speed up that process a little bit.

You then roll a plain colour over the top.

The repetition of these steps will also create a more complicated print.

And when you're ready, you then, while it's wet, apply a paper over your plate and apply pressure.

You then want to allow it to dry, so you're allowing the acrylic paint to dry onto the paper, and then you gently peel it to remove.

As I've said before, a top tip for this as you're waiting for the paint to dry is to use a hairdryer to speed up the process.

It's also worth thinking about how thickly you apply the acrylic paint.

Because obviously, the thicker it is, the longer it's going to take to dry.

If you're using thin layers to build up those colours, you're gonna find that process that bit quicker.

Okay, check for understanding time.

Which step has been removed from this process list? So we've got lay down the objects or stencil and roller with acrylic paint.

Remove the objects and allow them to dry.

Then we've got a blank step.

And then it says, while wet, apply paper and pressure and allow it to dry.

Pause the video and decide which step you think has been removed.

Well done if you remembered that this was to roll a plain colour over the top and that you can repeat these three steps to create a more complex design.

The gelli plate is flexible, but it's also delicate and it must not be cut into or torn, as those marks of that cutting or tearing will become a permanent mark which will affect all subsequent prints.

Okay, so we're gonna get started having a go at this practical task.

The first thing you're gonna need to do is to gather the materials you need to create your gelli prints.

You will need to gather, so think about things like a gelli plate and roller, paper, textured materials that you can press into the surface.

Think about things like bubble wrap, lace.

Leaves can work quite well as well.

You're going to need acrylic paint in a range of colours, scissors and paper to make your stencils.

Pause the video and gather that equipment now.

Okay, so now that you've got all your equipment, you're going to be creating stencils that you can use for your gelli printing.

Think about making bold, clear silhouettes.

Cut them neatly so that you can use both the internal and external part of the paper.

This doubles the amount of stencils you've got and allows you to create more work.

Ensure the stencils are smaller than the gelli plate that you're using.

Pause the video and get started creating your stencils now.

How did you get on? Did you make a few stencils? There are so many possible outcomes, and you might have made stencils that looked a little bit like this.

And Andeep assesses, "Lucas has created bold and clear stencils which make me think about tropical landscapes." So for our Task A 3, we're going to create a set of two to three gelli prints to experiment with the process and adding texture and patterns.

You should experiment with a range of colours and textures.

Work quickly to test your ideas.

You could document your work by photographing each step as you create it.

This can work really nicely if you want to remember how you produced the work.

Now, remember that the process of gelli printing is like this.

You're gonna lay down the objects or the stencils and roller over them with acrylic paint.

You then remove the objects and allow that paint to dry, or of course, remember, you can use the hairdryer to speed up that process.

Then you roll over the plain colour.

The previous steps can be repeated as many times as you want, but you'll learn quite quickly how many times it's going to work effectively in your design.

While the acrylic paint is wet, you then apply a layer of paper over the top and apply pressure.

Allow that to dry, again, you can use the hairdryer for this, and then peel off your paper to reveal your print.

Give yourself plenty of time to create this experimentation and make sure you've got two to three prints that you can work into for our next stage.

Pause the video and get started.

How did you get on? Did you find that actually you got really into it and you were layering up lots of different layers? Did you think about varying your colours between each of the layers, and maybe you swapped between having warm and cool colours so that those layers really stood out? You might have made something like this, 'cause there's lots of different options of how your outcome might look, but they could look something like this.

And Sofia says, "These are so good, Lucas! How did you make them?" Here Lucas says, "Thanks! I built up layers using my stencils.

I also varied the colours so each layer stood out." And actually you can see that step there.

So we've got the first image with the teal and pink layer, and you can see where he's then placed that larger stencil over the top, and that outcome has both green and like a reddish pink, and you can see those other marks in the background behind it.

He's also shared these images with us.

So you can see again, we've got the trees, and they've been layered with a cream colour.

And then that's the outcome.

So you can see actually the paint doesn't fully cover the area, and that creates an additional texture that's documented in his work.

And again, here's another one.

So we've got that yellow-green painted over that leaf shape, and then this is how the plate looks when you've removed that paper.

Additional layers have been added.

And then the final outcome, you can see those shapes.

It might be interesting to notice there that that yellow-green shape is a little bit harder to see.

Now, this is on the plate still, it's not been printed off, so it might come through more clearly on the print, but it's worth considering the strength and the depth of the colours that you're using.

So we're moving on to reflecting on and refining our prints.

What makes this a successful print? Some reasons that this is successful include that there's good ink coverage, there are appealing patterns that have been built up, we've got detail and texture, and then there's an interesting composition.

Identifying good ink coverage, detail, textures, appealing focal points, and interesting compositions are key aspects of the reflection process in printmaking.

Do you think your work from Task A is all the same standard, or do you think there's some work that could be improved and some work which is stronger? You may have learnt as you started working and feel more successful with your subsequent work.

Okay, check for understanding time.

True or false? Artists ensure that each print is highly successful and do not have to reflect on their prints or refine their work.

Pause the video and decide if you think that is a true or false statement.

Well done for saying false.

Printmaking can result in unexpected outcomes, so an important part of the process is reflecting on the success of prints and using this knowledge to refine and develop the work.

Are these two prints as successful as each other or is one better than the other? What do you think? Aisha shares, "I think that the left image has bold layers and interest, but it's not printed as well.

I think it's ripped." And Alex adds, "Yes, but the one on the right has a large area with less detail.

Maybe that could be improved?" What did you say? An important part of the printing process is reflecting on the success of prints and using this knowledge to refine and develop work.

What techniques have been added to this print to refine it? Have you noticed that more imagery has been put on the left with more layers added, and actually, the print changed colour.

Initially it was green, so it was on that previous slide, and now the overall colour is much warmer, with bits of that green peeking through.

Artists can experiment and refine gelli prints further by: masking the plate with paper stencils and overlapping multiple prints on the same page.

Applying paint with a brush for a painterly effect.

Although remember, you don't want it to be too thick, as it'll take too long to dry.

Ghost printing, so taking a second lighter print from the plate without re-inking, and that will really depend on how many layers you've been able to produce.

And transfer printing, using images from magazines or laser printing on the gelli plate.

Okay, check for understanding time.

You're gonna fill the gaps using the word bank.

So artists can experiment and refine gelli prints further by: masking the plate with paper something overlapping multiple prints on the same page.

Applying paint with a brush for a something effect.

Something printing for a second, lighter print from the plate without re-inking.

And transfer printing: using images from blank or laser prints on the gelli plate.

Your word bank words are ghost, magazines, painterly, and stencils.

Pause the video and decide where you think each of those words goes.

Well done if you remembered that masking the paper plate with paper stencils will create multiple overlapped layers, that you can apply the paint with a brush for a painterly effect, that ghost printing is taking that second lighter print without re-inking the plate, and that you can take images from magazines or from laser printing.

So we're moving onto Task B.

You're gonna reflect on your work from Task A and consider how you will refine the works on a second print run.

You should identify less successful parts of your work, which might need more ink coverage, more layers of detail and texture, a more interesting composition, an appealing focal point.

And you can record your reflections on the back of your work lightly.

You might want to use post-it notes and you might want to use digital software, you might photograph them and then draw or write over the top of them to record your ideas.

The important thing is to have that thinking process and consider how you can make those improvements or where the improvements need to be made.

This allows you to direct your actions in the next stage, so you've had that thinking time.

Remember, this isn't about being critical or saying that all of your work is unsuccessful.

It's about identifying what can be done to make it even better.

Pause the video and get started on this hard thinking now.

How did you get on? Did you manage not to become over-critical? Really well done if you did.

It's important to remember this is a learning process and it's about how you make those improvements.

It's not a value judgement on the initial work that you produced.

I'm sure that it was fantastic, but what we want is to make even better work.

So taking the time to have that thought process is really valuable.

You might have said something a little bit like this.

And Lucas says, "My first print does not have good ink coverage, and so I aim to add another layer over the top.

I'll also add more textures to create a focal point.

To keep the areas I'd like I'll mask them with paper, or even use a leaf to create more interest." I really like how Lucas is thinking about how he can preserve the successful parts of his print while adding to those areas that need a little bit more to elevate them.

So, for Task B 2, we're going to now start refining the work from Task A with a second print run.

You can use any combination of these skills.

So you could mask the plate with paper stencils or objects, you can overlap multiple prints on the same page, you could apply paint with a brush for a painterly effect, and you can overlap ghost printing onto the prints you've already produced.

If you are feeling a little bit worried or concerned about working over the prints you've already done, you could take photocopies as you build up your confidence with this process.

There's no reason, though, why this particular step has to just be one extra print run.

You could repeat this process a couple of different times to get to the outcome that you really, really want.

Pause the video and give yourself time to start your second print run to refine those prints you produced in Task A 1.

How did you get on? Are you more pleased with your work? Were you able to add lots more detail? Did you use a combination of those skills, or did you focus on one in particular and really enhance that so you feel very successful with it? You might have work that looks a little bit more like this now.

And Izzy shares that "Lucas has refined his work by adding more layers of print to the less successful areas from the first print run." I really like how these two pieces work together now.

There's a coherence with the colours that he selected and with the textures.

I like the fact that that leaf shape is prominent in both images, and they feel like they go together.

Oh, and Izzy shares, she likes how he's developed his colours and textures.

I really interjected there, but it has worked really effectively.

You might have something like this.

Do you remember this print from when we were talking about which one hadn't printed as effectively earlier in the lesson? Sam shares, "I really like how Lucas has developed a new colour theme through this and incorporated the ripped areas.

It's so much stronger now." And look, we've got the image there for comparison, and you can see that those torn areas are much less noticeable and feel a little bit more like they're part of the work.

I wonder if you would do anything else to this piece as you developed it further.

In summary of our lesson, Selecting and rejecting ideas: using a gelli plate.

Gelli printing is a quick and expressive process which allows artists to experiment and develop their ideas.

An important part of the print process is reflecting on the success of the prints and using this knowledge to refine and develop your work.

After reflecting on the successes of a print run, a second print run can be attempted to refine outcomes.

I think you should be very proud of yourself and all the work that you've done in today's lesson.

There's been a lot of thinking that we've had to do, and it can be really hard when we start thinking about how we can make improvements not to go into that really critical space where we reject the successes that we have achieved.

I'm really proud of the way that you've been able to assess your work and then use that knowledge really powerfully to make your work even stronger.

Well done for all of your hard work, and I look forward to seeing you in our next lesson.