Gesso

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

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!

Different types of gesso

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!!