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Thursday, March 11, 2010

How to Keep Your Gessoed Papers From Curling

Thanks, Shona, for the photo above. 
Below is from an email I received from Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother. A couple of people have asked her about their paper curling as they gesso to prime. She wanted me to share her response with The Artistic Mother Art Group so that everyone can benefit from the information.







1)  THE PAPER WILL CURL UP A LITTLE AT THE SIDES THAT IS NORMAL...WHEN DRY, WHICH IS A SHORT TIME,  I PUT THE STACK UNDER A BIG BOOK OVER NIGHT.

2)  A LOT OF CURLING (IE. CURLING UP ON ITSELF LIKE A SWEDISH FISH IN LOVE) MAY BE BECAUSE YOU ARE USING TOO MUCH WATER...I USE ONLY A DAMP BRUSH AND VERY LITTLE WATER TO SPREAD THE GESSO. (IF YOU ARE GESSOING OVER WORDS ON JUNK MAIL AND YOU WANT THEM TO SHOW THROUGH, YOU WILL USE MORE WATER, BUT STILL NOT THAT MUCH... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND THAT BALACE BY PRACTICE.)

3)  USE A WHOLE LOT OF GESSO. SPREAD THE GESSO ON THICK. IT IS NOT A WASH WHEN YOU ARE PREPARING PAPERS. YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY PLAIN PAPER WHEN DONE (THE COLORED PAPER WILL TINT THE GESSO A LITTLE, BUT IT IS A SUBTLE EFFECT.)

4)  HUMIDITY CAN ALSO BE A FACTOR. IF IT IS HUMID AND YOUR PAPERS ARE CURLING, JUST STICK THE PAPERS UNDER A BOOK OVER NIGHT!

5)  THE TYPE OF PAPER SHOULDN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE, BUT THE LIGHTER THE PAPER WEIGHT THE MORE CURLING YOU SHOULD EXPECT.

6)  DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH. A LITTLE CURLING AND BUMPING IS NOT A PROBLEM. THE PROJECTS YOU WILL BE DOING ALL REQUIRE SMALL PIECES OF PAPER; SO YOU WILL BE CUTTING AND TEARING THESE SHEETS AND GLUING THEM TO THINGS. THEN THEY WILL BE FLAT!

27 comments:

  1. That was my next question! I had an old cookbook with nice rings binding the pressboard cover and had trouble with it. They curled up so fast and they were smaller pages too. I solved the problem by sewing 3 sheets together and then gessoing it. Now I have a stack of thick pages to fill when I get back to Alaska this spring.

    I had fun in the studio yesterday with the assembly line technique. I don't own many stamps though so it's just paint so far.

    Kim

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  2. Kim, that's excellent. I like the idea of sewing three sheets together to make a thicker weight. Helps to solve this problem. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. I had never used gesso before yesterday. (Actually, I'd never heard of it before Shona's book.) Anyway, my papers curled - especially the computer paper. I put them under a book for the night and they are doing better. I did just paint a thin layer, so maybe I didn't put enough gesso on???

    And, I appreciate Shona's hints!
    Dana

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  4. i was wondering about this today. thanks for the ideas!

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  5. That's great info. I need to not use as much water, again, I'm use to the wall not paper,hehe. Gotta get that brain over to paper.
    Thanks Trudy.

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  6. my book has arrived and I am a tad behind, still working on my mission statements! looking forawrd to the real work, I've peeked ahead!

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  7. Wonderful tip! I actually love the curling of the papers (they haven't THAT much - I'm using regular printer paper)...it creates even more texture and depth.

    Thanks again!
    (Oh - and to Diva Kreszl...I totally jumped ahead. My mission statement is still in progress, but my background sheets are done) ;)

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  8. thanks...still don't have my copy...found it impossibly frustrating to get it in australia, so ordered it from us...will be a little while in coming i guess...so i decided to hold off doing thechallenges as to be honest...don't really know what i am doing....but i will blog about it once i get it and eagerly check out everyones creativety...will remember this little tip when the time comes...xxx

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