Put a Jell-O Out Tonight! (1970)

People may not realize how often I quote Jell-O slogans. Over the one-hundred years plus of Jell-O brand, there have been many, and they are quite useful for laughs and inspiration for art. Even though there are months until the show (March 29, 2014!) you can start to play around with your medium, and that is on my list for today.

I mix my gelatin in a quart canning jar, filling it half full with COLD water. Room temp is fine, but don't make the mistake of using hot water, which I did for years and years, as it gets quite lumpy. The gelatin needs to bloom in the cold water (absorb water, basically) and after some minutes, five or ten, you can melt it. My current recipe is 6 ounces of dry gelatin powder for the 2 cups of water. That is really strong, and you can use less, so if you are using the Knox envelopes, start with making it about four times the box recipe, and experiment from there. The amount depends on the end use.

 I melt it in the microwave, but you could do it in a water bath or make the stuff in a saucepan if you like. Two minutes in the microwave should be more than enough, or one more, but then let it settle a little and it will get more clear. Skim off the foam and spread it on a plastic lid or dish for later use as seafoam or slime or throw it away, if you want. Divide the rest into smaller jars with dye, or get right into the big batch.

I vastly prefer making dried gelatin so that it lasts and I can do more with it over a longer stretch of time. It loses the jiggle, but you can add dye to make it any color you want, and the dried has a lot to recommend it. My next favorite method is using molds, and you can use most anything for a gelatin mold. I collect plastic items, especially if they have interesting textures or suggestive shapes (did you ever notice how the blister pack for light bulbs are boob-like?) but you can use anything you can get the gelatin out of. It gets pretty hard to move as it dries, sticking to the surface with great strength, so flexibility helps.

Decorative chain by David Gibbs

I generally pour the colored goo in thin layers (less than an eighth inch) in glass pie plates, etc., but be warned that it can pull chips of glass right off if it gets super dried, so you will not want to use the same dishes for food. Find a level spot for it to sit for a few minutes, and it will harden at room temp, so no need to juggle those dishes into your fridge. After a few hours of drying in a warm spot (on top of the piano for me) you can peel off the sheet, tear it up, and flip the pieces to dry further. It can take a couple of days or only one, depending on thickness.

You will want to play with the pieces to shape them and explore the stages it goes through, some flexible and even stretchy. You can re-hydrate it at any point, remelt it, start over, but it does get moldy if you make it too thick, don't flip it enough, or forget about it. You can pry it out of the molds intact if you do it at the right time, but small parts might break off. No problem: liquid gelatin makes a great glue (this is where the term glue factory comes in...) to stick the pieces back together, and this is how you make sculptures of various pieces. You have to prop them up or hold them together for a minute, and you can maybe break them apart later, but the glue is reliable for the most part. A one-ingredient art form!

By "unknown artist"

Message me, at dianemcwho@gmail.com, or on Facebook (I have a Gelatinaceae page as well as my own, Diane McWhorter) if you have more questions, but I will continue to go over some of these details again, as we all form our concepts and our art pieces. You will bring a piece to the show this year, right? I guarantee it will be a good one, the show that is, but your piece as well. Because, and you may not believe this at first, there is no bad Jell-O Art. There isn't a critical or evaluative structure for Jell-O Art, and you can believe we will not reject any pieces from our show, even if they look like a nude woman on a plate or include bullets. (I made a Jell-O AK-47 once, and there have been lots of boobs and derrieres.) We are Artists in the true mold!

Make art, and you are an artist. All the better if it is imbued with meaning and has scientific import, but the main concept we promote is FUN. Make some fun (1979). The quickest way to find a smile (1987.) Don't say no, say Jell-O (1975.) If you want to find more slogans, there is a great book called Jell-O: A Biography, written by Carolyn Wyman, that you can probably find somewhere. I just pulled out my copy, and the glossy surface is kind of flaking off a little, because maybe I spilled some gelatin on it. Or maybe, just possibly, Carolyn covered her book cover in gelatin. No, probably not, I suppose I spilled.

Violet, about 10 inches across

Oh, and if you want to do a favor for your Queen, I have dropped off the google pages for Jell-O Art, gelatin art, Jell-O artists, images, etc. I could barely find myself, and my Mom is telling people to look me up, so if you have some time, google around and click on me and my pieces, or David Gibbs' pieces, or anything but those gorgeous edible flower things or the moldy San Francisco. Usage is the same as importance online, so use me and get me back up into the popular zones. You will find amazing things out there, but you will probably find that Eugene's Jell-O Art is the longest running, the most advanced, and the very best Jell-O Art in the history of the world. We're in the book. We're up to something good (1985).