Making bases out of gesso - HELP !!

[rossella1]

Hello - I need HELP !!
Does somebody of you know HOW to make bases out of gesso ?   :
I would like to learn and practice this technique which has been used in the past when plastic was not the norm.  Would somebody help me ?  :love:

THANK YOU.

[Rhoderic]

Bases out of gesso? As in, the stuff artists use to undercoat canvases for painting?

[rossella1]

Hi: yes indeed - gesso then flocked with either gravel of grass in which to stick stones or mini trees ... gesso  

[Heldrak]

AFAIK Gesso is essentially thick white paint- It would be exceedingly impractical to make bases out of it.

You could conceivably use Gesso as a liquid medium to attach gravel, flock, etc. to a solid base (in place of white glue) but the number of laminations needed to construct even a single base just from Gesso itself would be absurd...!

[Rhoderic]

I suppose you could make one-sided molds and just pour the gesso in, but isn't gesso specifically known to shrink a lot as it dries? I also think the end product would be rather bendy and rubbery. Are we really talking about the same thing here?