The rough texture on this blue vase started with white gesso. I brushed it onto a plain clear vase, patted it with a brush, and painted Evening Blue Rit dye over the dried surface.
Project context: after my earlier dye experiments, Rit asked me to create more projects for them.
I’d seen Rosemary of Villabarnes use gesso and wanted to try it. I bought mine at Walmart, near the Mod Podge, along with a glass vase that cost a few dollars at the time.
Why try gesso?
Gesso is a primer that gives a painting surface some texture. Art Is Fun’s explanation of gesso was my starting point for learning about it. This vase was my own experiment with using it under dye on glass.
Paint and texture the white base
I covered the glass with gesso. Before it dried, I lightly patted the surface with an artist’s brush to build up texture. I allowed about 30 to 45 minutes for it to dry in this project.
Add Evening Blue dye from the top
Once the gesso was dry, I painted it with Evening Blue Rit dye. I poured a little dye into a measuring cup, dipped my brush, and started at the top of the vase so some of the color could drip down.
A garbage bag protected the kitchen table while I worked. The brush texture and the drips created different shades across the white base.
The dried finish felt slightly rough, almost gritty or sandy. I tied a little fabric and twine around the vase, added yellow flowers, and displayed it with my roosters.
For comparison, my green vase experiment uses Mod Podge mixed with dye, while the Sunshine Orange vase has dye brushed over dried Mod Podge.
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