How to Transfer Images Using a Gelli Plate

This week I want to share with you one of my favorite art making tools: The Gelli Plate! It's a mini print-making slab of plastic and mineral oil. At least, that's what the plates you can buy are made of, but some people make their own plate at home using gelatin. I have yet to try that, but hope to in the future.

You might wonder what artists do to relax when their job is also their hobby. Well, one thing I do is play with my gelli plate. It's a stress free way to make prints, collage paper, or to create image transfers. Image-transfering is what I want to talk about today. I've been a little obsessed with making image transfers lately. It's so fun! It's addicting! I think it might even be contagious! The more I show my examples on social media the more people want to know about it.

How does it work? First, I look for high contrast images in magazines, cut them out, and then I use acrylic paint on my gelli plate to transfer the images to my paper. It's an easy process, but sometimes the images don't transfer all the way (or at all) and sometimes they come out perfectly. It's exciting to peel back the paper because you never know what you are going to get! Sometimes it looks amazing even when it doesn't transfer like you expected it to. That's probably my favorite gelli plate experience. As soon as I finish one print I am eager to do another one. If I'm not careful, hours can go by and before I know it I am out of paper and can't make anymore prints!

I just realized I may have some type of art-making gambling problem. The thing is, as adults we just don't get as many surprises as we used to. I really enjoy the surprise factor involved in image transfer printing. When it comes out well it's like winning a mini lottery!

In case you want to join me in this fun for the whole family creative activity, seriously, even kids can do this, check out my YouTube video below for step by step instructions on how to do image transfers using a gelli plate.

If you want to purchase a gelli plate and join my madness, you can click on my Amazon Affiliate link here to check them out. They come in different sizes. If you purchase a plate, I'll receive a small percent of your purchase and that will help me maintain this website! Here's the gelli plate link: https://amzn.to/3JeUbf6 Thank you! I hope you enjoy the tutorial below.