Gel Plate Printing - Southwell Library - Adult Learning

Southwell Library, Southwell

Date	23 April - 21 May 2025
Sessions	Wednesdays: 10am - 12pm
No. sessions	5
Venue	Southwell Library, Southwell View venue details
For ages	19+
Group size	5 - 10
Cost	FREE - £35

About this course

Come and experience the joy of creating monoprints with a gelatin printing plate. This technique of hand printing is fun and quick, without the need for a printing press. The gratification is immediate, and each print is totally unique.

On this course you will explore using gelatin plate as a printing tool. Through demonstration, personal experimentation and tuition you will acquire skills in different printing techniques. You will learn how to use natural objects, stencils, masks, textured items, and paint brushes to create small prints. By the end of the course, you will have learnt a variety of ways to produce beautiful surface designs and patterned papers. We will use some of these prints to create gifts - such as bookmarks, a set of cards or as a cover for handmade notebooks.

Gelatin plate printing is an ideal process for beginners and no prior experience in printing is required. Each session will combine demonstrations, hands-on practice, and individual guidance to help you develop your skills and create unique artworks. You will have the opportunity to experiment with different techniques and receive feedback to enhance their understanding and proficiency in gelatin plate printing.

Resources required:

Apron or a big shirt
Pencil
Rubber
A few (soft) paintbrushes – small, medium and large
X2 A4 Cartridge paper or A4 Copy paper - we will use lots of paper (The Works, The Range, Hobbycraft, Amazon)
A variety of other paper or plain fabrics that can be used to print on.
A household cellulose sponge cloth e.g., Spontex sponge cloth or similar (to create textures)
Wet wipes
Paper towel
A pair of scissors
Acrylic paints – a selection of colours - but even basic colours, such as primary colours plus white would be useful.

Please note: paints do not have to be expensive ones, the cheaper ones actually work better. Good paints for gel printing can be obtained from:

The Works – Crawford & Black, 200ml tubes
The Range – Graduate Acrylics, 120 ml tubes or Art Studio Acrylics, 59ml bottles with flip caps (these are cheap and work really well on the gel plates)
Paints can also be purchased from Hobbycraft or Amazon.
Gel Plate & Brayer - if you have these, otherwise a set will be provided for you to use on the course (Amazon, eBay, Hobbycraft)

Booking your place and fee information

If you are in receipt of certain benefits you will be offered the course for free, however if you have a financial barrier which may prevent you from enrolling on the course, please visit our webpage for further information https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/skills-learning/funding-your-courses/

To secure your place on the course BOTH the following must be done:

Complete the EVENTBRITE BOOKING, AND
Complete our INSPIRE ONLINE ENROLMENT FORM for each person attending the course.

You should be redirected to the Inspire Online Enrolment Form after completing the Eventbrite booking. If you are not redirected, please use the link supplied in the Eventbrite booking confirmation email.

To book and enrol on one of our courses, you must have been living in England and have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years.

Some exceptions may apply if you are living in England with evidence of the right to remain and are from an EEU/EEAU country (completion of a questionnaire will be required). As we no longer receive funding for our ESFA-funded courses for learners living in the devolved areas listed below, full cost fees would apply to these courses if you live in these areas: