Gel plates are an extremely versatile way of printing. Gel plates can be used in conjunction with found objects, stencils, rubbing plates and cut paper to name a few. Any tiny piece of detail pressed into the gel plate will come out as a print.
Gel plates are also extremely useful for layering images. Students could place one colour of acrylic paint on the plate, roll out evenly with a hard roller, press a texture on to the coloured plate (EG bubble wrap) and then print by laying apiece of cartridge paper on the top of the plate and applying even pressure with a hand.
Students can then roll a contrasting colour over the clean gel plate and use a cut out piece of paper in the shape of a silhouette to place on the coloured plate. Using the first print students can then lay that piece of paper over the plate and press. This will reveal the silhouette with the first printed pattern showing through.
Tip: If you are layering images you can add white to the layers to create more opacity. Alternatively, you can use printing gel to create more transparency in layers.
