Fun with gelli plate prints Easy mixed-media printmaking

Ickler and Klink debut with a wonderful introduction to gelli printing, which in its simplest form involves pressing paper or fabric onto a gelatin plate covered in wet acrylic paint. The authors outline many variations on the process, suggesting that readers might create texture by marking up the painted plate with tools or utensils, or that they might place seedheads on the gelli before printing to make silhouettes of the plants. The magazine resist technique is particularly impressive and entails pressing a glossy page onto a painted plate, which retains the image, and then printing the result. Other strategies include using stamps to absorb paint on gelli plates, which produces a relief of the stamp's image on the final print, and generating a "grunge effect" by placing stenciled letters on a painted plate and then covering them with another color before printing, leaving behind hazy impressions of the letters. The bounty of techniques showcases the medium's many possibilities, though the projects offer more inspiration than guidance. For instance, the authors show how they used cutout block letters to adorn the word "bag" onto fabric, but give only a rudimentary description of how they transformed that fabric into a drawstring backpack. Still, this will get crafters' creative juices flowing. (Apr.)