Unlock Your Creativity with Gelli Printing Workshops

20th December 202420th December 2024 | samwaters123

Gelli plate with inks botanicals and a stencil

Explore Gelli Printing

If you’ve ever wanted to explore printmaking in a fun and approachable way, attending a Gelli print workshop is the perfect opportunity to let your creativity flow. Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced artist looking to add a new dimension to your studio practice, Gelli printing offers a versatile and rewarding way to create unique, layered artwork.

So, let’s talk about what can you expect from a Gelli print workshop, and the benefits that experimenting with this medium can bring to your creative practise.

A Warm and Welcoming Environment

I recently ran a Gelli Print workshop in a local café, collaborating with the owner who provided delicious food. If you are looking for an experience as well as learning a new technique then I suggest you look for a workshop that offers more than just the practical lessons. Find one that welcomes you with a hot drink or perhaps lunch is included with the workshop. This gives you a chance to chat to other creatives, sharing ideas, or just have a catch up. This will set a relaxed tone for the day. A friendly and supportive environment will help you feel at ease and ready to experiment.

table of paints with a brayer ready for rolling on to a gelli plate

What to Expect – An Introduction to the Basics

At the start of the workshop, you will usually receive a demonstration of basic Gelli print techniques. It is important to get confident with the basics, learn how to apply paint to the Gelli plate, blend colours, and use simple techniques to create stunning patterns. My biggest tip is less is more, in the workshops I have led students tend to put way too much paint on the plate, they soon learn that a very thin layer will produce intriguing results. An introduction to the basics will ensure you feel confident before you begin your own creative exploration.

Using botanicals as inspiration is super accessible and will produce some fabulous and often unexpected results. Just pick some leaves on your way to the workshop from your garden or hedgerow. Try using leaves, flowers, and natural materials to create intricate and organic prints. You’ll discover how to layer these elements and explore textures to bring your prints to life.

hands-on experimentation

The true joy of Gelli printing lies in the hands-on experience. Just roll up your sleeves and start creating your own prints using a variety of papers, botanicals, and techniques. Don’t worry about making mistakes — the fun is in the experimentations. Embrace the unexpected results that make each print unique. In the images below you will see the use of a mask to generate a negative and positive print.

benefits of gelli printing

1. No Pressure, Just Play: Gelli printing encourages a playful and experimental mindset, helping to overcome creative blocks and fear of making mistakes.

2. Immediate Results: Unlike many art forms, Gelli printing offers instant gratification. You’ll see your ideas come to life within minutes.

3. Mindfulness and Relaxation: The process of rolling paint, pressing leaves, and peeling paper away can be incredibly therapeutic and stress-relieving.

4. Unique and One-of-a-Kind: Each print you create is a monoprint, meaning it’s one-of-a-kind — no two prints are ever exactly the same.

5. Applicable to Other Projects: The skills you learn can be used in other creative areas like mixed media, card-making, and collage art.

A Gelli print workshop is more than just learning a new skill — it’s about discovering the joy of creativity, embracing the unexpected, and taking time for yourself. Let me know how you use a Gelli Plate in your studio practise.

a joyful Artist Collaboration

10th March 202428th July 2025 | Sam Waters

How it all Started

My sketchbook collaboration project started from an act of kindness really. I had seen on social media that artist Sue Bulmer was focussing for a whole year on creating concertina sketchbooks as a way to fuel her creative soul. Her plan was to create one sketchbook every month.

how could i reach out

As an artist I seem to generate and collect lots of collage papers, too many to ever use myself. As I sat in my studio surrounded by mountains of collage paper, I was inspired by Sue’s project and thought I should send her some of my collage papers for her to use in her sketchbooks. I was thinking how much I would enjoy receiving a package of papers from another artist.

What marks, what colours, textures and types of papers would be different to those that I usually use.

So I selected a range of handmade and found papers, wrote a note, packaged it all up and sent it off in the post…I don’t think Sue will mind if I say that she was very surprised and overjoyed to receive such a surprise package in the post.

Package tie with string and collage papers

What happened next

We arranged to have a video call so we could chat, we immediately hit it off and soon decided that we should think of a combined project that we could work on together, our sketchbook collaboration project was born.

Mindful and very low pressure

We wanted it to be low key with no pressure as we both already had pretty full schedules, we made our own rules, or rather decided not to have any! The basis of the project was that we both made a concertina sketchbook, each of us would work on a few pages in any way we chose and then we would post the book to the other artist for them to carry on.

It was fun to receive the book in the post, to see what Sue had done and what goodies she had sent for me to work with. I found working in the book calming, it didn’t have any expected outcome, just a fun few hours. Once I started in the studio, the pages took on a life of their own.

A friendship has been formed

From that moment our friendship has grown, we now have regular video calls and even arranged an in person meet to exchange our sketchbooks, visit a gallery and have a lovely art chatty lunch.

Sam Waters and Sue Bulmer exchanging sketchbooks artists

two concertina sketchbooks with a hand pointing

A joyful resource

The books we have made are a joyful playful resource. Packed full of colour and marks, one very pink the other blues. Some pages shout that they need some calm, others need more to be added. Already we have been working for just over a year and there is more to come.

I would highly recommend thinking about doing your own collaboration project as it is a great way to spark new ideas, make connections, push you to respond to marks and colours that you may never have chosen.

How to start you own creative collaboration

Find out how to start your own creative collaboration in my next blog post.

Want to know more about our collaboration project ? Then why not enter your email below to receive my newsletter where I share updates of our progress.

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Who needs an Art Accountability BuDDy?

Sam Waters artist standing infront of a blue door wearing a green scarf and pink coat with the words where is my accountability buddy

11th January 202428th July 2025 | Sam Waters

Ever felt lost in the vast world of art after a stint in the corporate world? Join me on my art journey, where I stumbled upon the perfect partner-in-crime for accountability, Rachael, who helped transform my creative endeavours. Let’s dive into the messy, inspiring, rollercoaster ride that has been my art adventure so far.

Setting the Scene: From Corporate to Canvas

After 28 years as an IT project manager, I took the plunge back to my artistic roots. The creative bug bit me, and I needed an outlet beyond the corporate grind. With my entrepreneurial spirit and creativity I launched myself into a new world of art and creativity.

Finding Rachael: The Unplanned Art Buddy

Cue the entrance of Rachael! Our paths crossed during ‘POD’ calls, revealing a shared sense of adventure. Little did I know, she’d become my indispensable art buddy. Check out her fabulous work here Rachael Johnson Art . A ‘POD’ is a group of artists at similar stages, it was set up as part of an art membership I belong to.

Weekly Arty Chats: Consistency is Key

Every Monday, Rachael and I embark on our ‘Arty Chats.’ No matter where life takes us, we ensure our creative fires keep burning. Beaches, car parks, or moving vehicles – nothing stops us!

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson working on art business strategy in their accountability session

Rachael Johnson in a cafe at the quarterly review planning meeting

Tech Tools and Techniques

We’ve tried it all – Teams, Messenger, but the magic happens on What’s App. Weekly Video calls followed up with messages during the week, which ensures we check on progress and keep on track. Google Docs for sharing, Insta for any immediate updates – we’ve found that these tools keep us dynamic and low maintenance!

Big Rock Project: Art Fair Dreams

Our 2023 dream of a joint Art Fair didn’t quite pan out, we each did a fair individually and learnt a lot, but 2024 West Sussex is on the horizon for us both. Click here for more details. Rachael and I share tips, suppliers, and critiques, turning setbacks into stepping stones. It is so helpful having someone to bounce ideas off, and support me and for me to be able to offer support.

Healthy Competition and Motivation

Rachael’s my secret weapon! Healthy competition keeps us on our toes. When she nails a task, I’m spurred to action. Mutual motivation at its finest!

In-person Sessions: From Art Trails to Prosecco Brainstorms

Picture this: Art Trails, prosecco, and brainstorming. Our in-person sessions go beyond the screen, infusing creativity, generating excitement and energy. Collaborating is not just productive – it’s a blast!

Secret Severn Pop Up Studio team Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists with the other artists exhibiting

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson drinking Prosecco during their art accountability session

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists at Bristol Arts Trail at the reclamation venue

Structured Sessions and Monthly Reviews

Our weekly sessions now have a rhythm, with structured topics to check in on each week. Monthly reviews with defined metrics help us track our progress, ensuring we stay on the right creative track. It really is a combination of creative studio time and business topics.

Quarterly Gamechanger: The Power of In-person Meet Ups

In-person meetups are the cherry on top! Quarterly sessions add a spark, turning our creative plans into concrete actions. Face-to-face magic! Top Tip, find somewhere mid distance between you, select a great meeting place, we like The Boston Tea Party, for great food and BIG tables so we can spread out. Take a portable creative activity – to start kick the brain into creative thinking, remember this is an art business and should be FUN.

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists with their original abstract paintings delivery to the RBSA Exhibition

Concertina Sketchbook pages open easy creative activity

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists sitting in a cafe at their art accountability session. Art buddy

Artistic Buddy Advice: Seek, Share, and Inspire

To all artists out there, find your own Rachael. Expect accountability to be a two-way street, where inspiration, skills and experience flow both ways. Accountability and finding a buddy are the key that unlocks the excitement and builds the energy in your artistic journey. Check out Rachael’s thoughts here.

Conclusion: Accountability Unleashes Energy, Excitement and Fun

Art accountability is not just a buzzword; it’s the secret sauce that makes the journey thrilling. Unleash your creativity and embrace the exciting twists of our artistic adventure. Building our art businesses on collaboration, kindness and accountability has been a huge success for both of us.

I’ve spilled the beans on my transformative art accountability journey with Rachael, and now I would love to hear YOUR stories! Whether you’re just starting your creative adventure of if you are an established artist, share the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Drop your stories in the comments and we can all share our creative accountability experience.

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Three super simple top tips to help abstract painters generate new ideas

Collage picture of rusty farm roller, cropped to show composition, two images in black and white

15th February 202328th July 2025 | Sam Waters

In this Blog post I want to share how I use photos I took on a recent trip to Cornwall to help inspire my work and share some image manipulation tips to help spark inspiration for generating new ideas.

The trip was a flying work visit and there really was very little time to be creative in my sketchbook as by the end of the day I was totally exhausted and not feeling at all creative. Yet each day during my lunch break I always managed to get out for a walk, the weather was glorious with wall to wall sunshine and as I enjoyed the beautiful weather I spotted interesting things on my walk that captured my attention.

I always carry my phone so I took lots of pictures of an old rusty roller that I stumbled across on the side of the road.

This type of roller is used for rolling the fields. It improves seed to soil contact across the whole field by consolidating any loose soil left after drilling, this promotes successful and consistent germination which is the basis for a competitive crop.

The roller was pretty big, and very rusty with the ends displaying a vibrant shade of teal blue with deep scratch marks. The blue was in such contrast to the rusty shades so it really caught my eye. Blue and orange are known as complimentary colours sitting opposite each other on the colour wheel, already this old roller has potential. I took lots of close ups of the colours, marks and shapes, I was starting to get a fizzy feeling about this old, rusty roller.

So how can these quick snaps help me in my painting? It really is quite a simple process; here are 3 tips to help you get started.

Tip 1

Go through the images and edit them using the cropping tool, picking out the details that have interested you, this might be; colour combinations, shapes, textures or lines.

Duplicate the photo so that you can make several different crops of the same image. Try rotating the image to see how it looks, does it make you notice something different? Try putting the image into black and white, and also simplifying the shapes.

Close-up of an old rusty roller on grass, showing vibrant teal blue and rusty textures.

Tip 2

Print the images and make photocopies so you have a selection to play with. Next cut them up, rearrange and stick different combinations together. Be discerning in your choices.

Tip 3

Now that you have a few ideas, take out your sketchbook and create rough thumbnail sketches, at this stage you can tweak the composition. Try using black, white and grey. Concentrate on the shapes and negative shapes and keep it simple.

Close-up images of a rusty surface showcasing vibrant teal and orange colors, with one image displaying no color and the other saturated with color.

These three easy techniques start to spark ideas which might later end up in a finished painting. This playing stage is so much fun and there can be endless combinations.

So even on a busy work day I can find time to see the joy in something that I walk past, elevating the everyday! Whether that is shape, colour, line, marks or texture, I pick out the elements that give me a nudge and that is all the starting point that I need.

Sometimes these studies remain in my sketchbook as a record of the feelings, thoughts or experience I had at that specific time. They may inform other larger studies or even a body of work at a later date. Either way is fine by me, no pressure to create just enjoying something in what some people would just walk straight past.

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Annual Planning Made Easy: Tips for Creative Success

Picture of list of artist tasks for planning purposes

17th January 202328th July 2025 | Sam Waters

A close-up image of a hand holding a pink pencil over a notebook, with a title overlay that reads 'ANNUAL PLANNING Artist Top Tips to Plan your Year'. The background features a soft pink workspace.

Annual Planning How to start

If, like me you are in the middle of your annual planning process you might find these steps useful as a way to reduce the feeling of overwhelm…..

At the moment everyone seems to be busy planning for the year ahead, working on calendars, scheduling events, courses and generally trying to fit in all activities that they want to get done in the coming year.

I myself am in the middle of planning and I’ve noticed how overwhelming it can feel, so I have taken a step back to apply some of the techniques I have learnt in the corporate world to help me get clarity and progress.

There is so much to do at times it really does seem unmanageable, but a simple step by step approach has really helped me keep focussed and gain momentum.

Step 1

Write down all the ideas you have for the year, these can include the following but you may have many more, so just jot down whatever pops into your head. Once it is out of your head you can see the wood for the trees and more importantly make some informed decisions of which items you want to pursue.

Step 2

Using a priority rating of 1,2 or 3, with 1 being the most important, rank each item. So for example, if you have already signed up for an Art Fair and paid the fee this might be ranked as 1, alternatively if you haven’t yet checked out the Art Fair to know if it fits your work or schedule then I would suggest ranking it as 3.

Step 3

For each priority 1 item you need to think about what does each one actually mean in terms of tasks that you will need to do to achieve them, taking the Art Fair example. Add these as steps beneath each item. For example here are a list of tasks when considering Art Fairs:

Research the art fair venues and organisers
Make a decision on which location suits you best based on location, cost, dates and any feedback you can gather from other artists you know.
Understand what will be available on the day; table, light, stand to display your work
Think about creative ways to display your work; step ladders or small easels
Do you need help at the fair on the day?
Do you already have the work available or do you need to create work
Arrange Insurance
Arrange transport & parking
Think about food and drink on the day
Order labels and price your work
Order business cards or flyers to give to customers
How are you going to market the event
Will there be promotion done by the event organiser, maybe you will need to provide a brief statement of your work.
Do you have packing for purchases made at the event
Do you have a method for collecting for contact details

A close-up of a person's hand writing a to-do list in a notebook, with various tasks listed.

Step 4

Review your priority ratings now you have a fuller understanding of the amount of work for each activity, you might feel that there is too much to do, or you simply don’t have enough time to carry out all the tasks, in which case you might decide to change the priority or in the example of the Art Fair you might choose to select a different date.

Breaking down = Success

By breaking each activity down into tasks, you are creating a manageable ‘To Do’ list that makes it easy to see what work is involved for each task, and will keep you on track. It is always nice to be able to tick things off a list and things will seem far more achievable. If you find that you have forgotten something, just add it to the list, and by having said list you can clearly allocate tasks to other people to help, therefore further improving your productivity.

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