Gel Plate Printing: A Guide to Making Beautiful Layered Art

This solid debut guide from mixed media artist McCreevy introduces readers to the world of gel plate printing, a type of monoprinting that uses a reusable, gelatin-like plate to create layered prints with paint. Crafters will need a gel plate (she recommends ones from Gel Press or Gelli Arts), acrylic paints, quality paint rollers, paper, and other easy-to-find tools for creating the designs, like an old credit card, baby wipes, string, and sponges. Before delving into the projects, McCreevy offers tips on color theory (to reduce a color’s brightness, mix a small amount of its complementary color) and how to extend the drying time of acrylic paint (acrylic retarders or a few drops of water can help). With each of the six projects, readers learn new techniques. To create a bookmark, for instance, crafters are instructed on how to apply stencils to the gel plate, add pops of color to a print, and use a viewfinder (a tool that helps find a “visually pleasing composition” within a print). Other projects, like the circular collage painting, demonstrate how to print whole, fresh flowers and embroider French knots and sewing beads onto canvas. Gorgeous photos accompany McCreevey’s thorough step-by-step instructions. Printmakers and serious crafters will find this worth a look. (Mar.)