Summer School: Botanical Gelli Plate Printing, a 5-day creative path

An exploration of botanical printing using gelli plates, suitable for beginners and those with some experience. Emphasis on playful experimentation, plant selection, how to forage responsibly, taking joy from the process and creating finished pieces including collages and/or a concertina book.

Course Structure

Day 1: Introduction and Foundations

- Welcome and safety briefing
- Introduction to gelli plate printing
- Mixed media introduction with pigment sticks
- Understanding plant characteristics for printing
- Basic techniques demonstration
- Plant material selection walk
- Initial experimentation with simple leaves
- Single-layer prints
- Ghost prints introduction
- End of day reflection / display

Day 2: Developing Techniques
- Local plant collecting expedition
- Layering techniques introduction
- Detail pulls with botanical elements
- Combining prints
- Creating textured backgrounds

Day 3: Creative Expression
- Developing layering techniques
- Combining different botanical elements
- Colour theory- creating a cohesive project piece
- Integrating stamps / other media

- Personal project ideas
- Mark-making tools/ stencils exploration
- Building a collection of prints

Day 4: Project Development
- Collage techniques with printed elements
- adding work to a mount
- Starting personal projects
- Advanced mixed media techniques
- Concertina book structure introduction
- Creating specific prints for book pages
- Continued project work

Day 5: Finishing Presentation reflection
- Completing personal projects
- Final details and refinements
- Mount work preparation
- Project completion
- Group - Celebration and reflection

Daily Structure Notes
- Each day begins with a demonstration/ example sharing
- Regular breaks for reflection and discussion
- Flexible working time to accommodate different paces
- Individual guidance throughout
- Daily clean-up and material maintenance instruction

Monoprint offers printmakers a rich variety of ways of adding layers of colour and tone to works on paper - to either create new images or to develop existing works.
Participants are encouraged to bring along their own fresh plant material (from Tuesday onwards) which they wish to use, or to just arrive with curiosity as there will be many plants provided.

About the Tutor

Su France is a Lincolnshire-based artist whose work celebrates the beauty of rural life. Working with foraged botanicals, earth pigments, and vintage threads, she creates prints and textile pieces that capture how she feels about her place in the natural world. Her practice includes stitch work on linen, the use of locally sourced pigments muted, earthy colours, Gelli plate printing and collagraph prints, where she explores her love of ceramics and the idea of imperfection and the mend.
Drawing inspiration from her surroundings, Su combines traditional techniques with playful experimentation. She's passionate about sharing her methods through workshops, helping others discover their own creativity through accessible approaches to printmaking and natural materials. Her work emphasizes the connection between art and the wild, finding beauty in the simple patterns and textures of the natural world.