Playing with Gel Prints and Collage

 One of the things I love most about gel printing is the element of surprise. You roll on some paint, maybe add a stencil or press in a texture, pull the paper off the plate—and suddenly you’ve got something completely unexpected. Sometimes the print is gorgeous on its own, but a lot of the time I end up with papers that feel more like “hmm, interesting.” And that’s where collage comes in.

Why They Work So Well Together
Gel prints make the best collage material. All those textures, smudges, and layers of color become these beautiful little building blocks. Even the “not-so-pretty” prints take on new life when you rip them up and layer them with others. It’s like every scrap has potential—you just need to find where it fits.


Here’s how I usually do it.

Grab your print papers – The more variety, the better.
Tear or cut – Sometimes I go for rough edges, sometimes clean shapes. 
Play around – I move pieces around on my base until it starts to look reight. try to get a balance. It feels a bit like solving a puzzle—very intuitive.
Glue it down – Once it looks right, glue it. Sometimes I add bits of twine, wool, sticks etc. 

What I love about combining gel printing and collage is how freeing it feels. There’s no pressure for it to be perfect. You’re just layering, experimenting, and letting the unexpected guide you. And the end result is always something completely yours, because no one else has those exact prints or pieces.

I like ot use what I've made.  So generally I make cards. These are always useful when you are giving someone a little gift. Everyone can buy a card, but making cards is so much more personal. It shows you've actually thought of this person. And cards can be framed afterwards which makes it a double gift!


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Scraps of prints 
A selection of cards



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