ges·so jeh/soh
n. pl. ges·soes
1. A preparation of
plaster of Paris and glue used as a base for low relief or as a surface
for painting.
2. A surface of gesso.
[Italian, from Latin gypsum, gypsum; see gypsum.]
gessoed adj.
From thefreedictionary.com
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I found the
need for gesso in a recent lesson of the week for year 6, in which we made
sculptures from wire hangers and pop socks (find the first of the two posts here).
I love the
time that I have now to spend on art not only for my own satisfaction but also
I can put in the time and research for the lessons at school. Probably effort
above and beyond the call of duty but I love to give the children the best. At risk of
burning myself out at times but as long as I gave my best! And so I did some
research in gesso and found it is easy enough to make my own, rather than
paying the expense of premade small pots of which I would need many for a
class.
So....the
following info was really helpful for me in explaining to the class what gesso
was and why we were using it. It is from art-is-fun.com.
What is
gesso?
Gesso is an important art supply to get your canvas ready for painting. You
can buy gesso readymade from any art supply shop. Gesso is very similar to
white acrylic paint, only thinner. It dries hard, making the surface more
stiff. Gesso prepares (or "primes") the surface for painting, making
the surface slightly textured and ready to accept acrylic paint. Without gesso,
the paint would soak into the weave of the canvas.
The
word gesso is a noun, but many artists also use it as a verb. For
example: "You need to gesso
your canvas before you paint."
The beauty
of gesso is that you can apply it to nearly any surface, and then you can paint
on that surface with acrylic paint. For example, you can apply a layer or two
of gesso to vinyl records, rubber duckies, or cigar boxes, and voila - you can
now paint on that object with acrylics! What fun. The possibilities are
endless!
Gesso is
traditionally white,
but nowadays you can also buy black, clear gesso and colored gesso readymade.
You can also tint your gesso to make any color you want. Just mix a little
acrylic paint to the gesso, and you've got some tinted gesso!
There are
two different grades of gesso: Artist grade and Student grade. The difference
between the two amounts to the different ratios of pigment vs. filler. The
Student grade is cheaper because it contains more filler than the Artist grade.
Artist grade has more pigment than Student grade, making it thicker and more
opaque. These differences are reflected in the price, and also in the quality. Student
grade is usually available only in white, but as mentioned earlier, you can add
acrylic paint to the gesso to make it more pigmented.
The
consistency and texture of gesso will vary from brand to brand. Some are more
liquidy and others are more thick. Some apply more smoothly and others leave a
more textured, toothy surface. You'll have to experiment with different brands
to find the one you like best. Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso is great for applying
sculptural effects to the canvas with a brush or palette knife.
Gesso comes
in both squeeze bottle form and in large tubs or jars. With the squeeze
bottles, you can squeeze the gesso right onto canvas and then smooth it out
with a brush. You can also pour some onto your palette first if you want to mix
the gesso with paint or water. If your gesso comes in a jar, you can stick your
paintbrush right into the jar and apply it to the canvas.
Gesso is
also available as a spray. What is gesso spray? You shake the can and spray the
gesso directly onto your canvas, with no need for a brush.
This is a great website I've discovered that gave me this me this insight: http://www.art-is-fun.com/what-is-gesso.html#ixzz2VdIdhEye
So I
searched for recipes and it seemed to be quite straightforward. What is coming
up is probably the best recipe I found. I work better by recipes and
quantities. Even in the kitchen cooking, I feel everso slightly out of control
if nothing is mentioned precisely so I've made it into quantities. Probably why
I was a heap when it came to papier mâché recently (still summoning up the
effort to post about THAT lesson prep!).
This one I
used as a basis, as it sounds like they did from where they found the recipe
from. The recipe was from A.J.'s Art and Designs
who in turn found their recipe from Joan of Art.
MY Resources
* 2 x 120 ml
glue pots (I had run out of the big container glue!)
* 1 x 120 ml
water
* 1 x 500 ml
baby powder
* white
tempera paint
I made two
batches and this was enough for a class of 22 with some spare. I did put quite
a lot of white paint in to bulk it out as I think each batch would only make a
750ml paint-bottle worth.
I amended
A.J.'s recipe as the glue was quite thick. I put it back to her 3 parts water.
It mixed to a stodge at first so I added another 120ml glue container of water
and that was just right. I added white tempera paint as required.
Oh, it smelled LUSH!!
