The childrens art workshops this month were a lot of fun experimenting with different textures and paints.
We did gelatine printing on paper, but this kind of printing can also be done on fabric.
I think the prints done on fabric could become a quilt or cushion cover. I love some of the subtle colours, but the bold bright colours are wonderful too.
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An autumn print done with pastel colours.
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I asked the children to bring different materials to print with: feathers, leaves, different textured papers,lace,string.
I have a lot of stencils, so we used those as well.
The prints can be used for further art work and I encouraged the children to think of a way how to use the prints by layering or cutting the images or colouring the images with different art materials.
I really like them to make the decisions, I just offer ideas and enough good art materials for them to use and explore with.
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| Some bold apple prints. |
The gelatine printing base last for about two weeks kept in the fridge and I added a little bleach to the mixture before I poured the gelatine into the trays.
I used aluminium foil baking trays bought at the "Two dollar" shop in Motueka.
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| Stencils and leaves print |
After printing cracks can appear in the gelatine, but instead of making a new lot I just melt the gelatine base in the microwave and pour it again into the trays.
Skim the airbubbles of with a strip of newspaper, because the printing base needs to be really smooth for printing.
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| Art work on top of a print |
Some of the children designed their own images and one of the boys made a deer stencil.
I talked about negative and positive spaces and the prints are a great tool for explaining this concept.
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| Stencil of a deer cut by one of the boys |
Most of the recipes how to make a gelatine printing base I found on the internet are from the States and they have different brands and packaging then in New Zealand.
I will give my recipe and it works really well.
Please do not pour the gelatine down the sink, it will block the drains. I will dispose my gelatine base in the compost bin.
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| Busy working |
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| A leaf art work on top of a print |
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| The gelatine base with a print in it. |
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| Bubble wrap and shapes |
The recipe for a gelatine printing base:
- Pour 250ml of hot water into a measuring cup and add 8 tablespoons of gelatine powder.
- Stir briskly with a fork until dissolved.
- Pour 750ml of water with a little bleach into the tray and add the dissolved gelatine and stir.
- Air bubbles will appear on the surface, use a strip of newspaper to slide over the surface of the gelatine and take the airbubbles of. You want a smooth surface for printing.
- Let the gelatine set overnight in the fridge.
Use a brayer or paint roller, I used cheap foam paint rollers, to spread the acrylic paints onto the gelatine base, lay the materials on the paint and place your paper on top and use a clean paint roller to print the image onto the paper.
I think the gelatine printing is really exciting and I will try some more on fabric to make my own cushion cover, maybe colourful autumn leaves.
