I'm delighted to bring you another episode of the Adventures in Arting Podcast!
If you do not see the podcast player above, please click on this link. You can listen to a podcast anywhere and at any time. It is a recording that is available to you whenever you'd like to listen. If you'd like to download it to your iTunes library, click here. You can also pause and rewind or fast forward as you desire. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm making art. It's a little like hanging out with friends while you art.
Today's podcast features Lou Ann Gleason:
Lou Ann is CEO and co-founder of a growing company, Gelli Arts LLC. Gelli manufactures a unique gel printing plate that is used by teachers and artists. Gelli started with her partner’s great idea. Clever manufacturing, savvy marketing and lots of getting the little things right have turned that idea into a brand with an expanding customer base around the world.
Lou Ann was born and raised in Michigan, one of 10 children in her family. She worked at a department store to help pay tuition at her all-girls high school, and then put herself through college. She graduated from Michigan State. After college, she worked first for a department store, making decisions about which women’s clothes to stock, then for a bank. Eventually, she went to get her MBA at University of Michigan.
The MBA degree opened up new opportunities. Lou Ann worked at Procter & Gamble. There she worked in brand marketing, making decisions about product development and advertising on household brands such as Cascade, Dawn and Joy. She was also lucky to spend a few years developing new products—which became a big asset at Gelli Arts.
Lou Ann stayed at P&G for 15 years. Later she served as chief marketing officer for a vacation real-estate firm, then started her own consulting business. Today she divides here time between the consulting business and Gelli Arts.
Lou Ann met her husband at P&G. They have two children, one son in college in California (who has already started his own business) and a daughter who is serving in the Peace Corp in Ukraine.
The artwork samples in this post are by Joan Bess, Birgit Koopsen, Marsha Valk, and Lou Ann Gleason.
Find Gelli online:
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Very cool. I look forward to listening. !
Very cool. I look forward to listening. !
Very cool. I look forward to listening. !
Very cool. I look forward to listening. !
Very cool. I look forward to listening. !
Very cool. I look forward to listening. !
I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed hearing Lou Ann’s story. I remember first seeing Julie use the Gelli plate a few years ago and thinking, meh, I don’t need that. I wish I could remember what changed my mind. It may have been Julie’s demo of the round plate. I now own the 8×10, 6″ round and the circle, square and triangle minis. Your conversation made me want to come home and pull some prints!! Thank you for the continued inspiration.
I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed hearing Lou Ann’s story. I remember first seeing Julie use the Gelli plate a few years ago and thinking, meh, I don’t need that. I wish I could remember what changed my mind. It may have been Julie’s demo of the round plate. I now own the 8×10, 6″ round and the circle, square and triangle minis. Your conversation made me want to come home and pull some prints!! Thank you for the continued inspiration.
I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed hearing Lou Ann’s story. I remember first seeing Julie use the Gelli plate a few years ago and thinking, meh, I don’t need that. I wish I could remember what changed my mind. It may have been Julie’s demo of the round plate. I now own the 8×10, 6″ round and the circle, square and triangle minis. Your conversation made me want to come home and pull some prints!! Thank you for the continued inspiration.
I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed hearing Lou Ann’s story. I remember first seeing Julie use the Gelli plate a few years ago and thinking, meh, I don’t need that. I wish I could remember what changed my mind. It may have been Julie’s demo of the round plate. I now own the 8×10, 6″ round and the circle, square and triangle minis. Your conversation made me want to come home and pull some prints!! Thank you for the continued inspiration.
I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed hearing Lou Ann’s story. I remember first seeing Julie use the Gelli plate a few years ago and thinking, meh, I don’t need that. I wish I could remember what changed my mind. It may have been Julie’s demo of the round plate. I now own the 8×10, 6″ round and the circle, square and triangle minis. Your conversation made me want to come home and pull some prints!! Thank you for the continued inspiration.
I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed hearing Lou Ann’s story. I remember first seeing Julie use the Gelli plate a few years ago and thinking, meh, I don’t need that. I wish I could remember what changed my mind. It may have been Julie’s demo of the round plate. I now own the 8×10, 6″ round and the circle, square and triangle minis. Your conversation made me want to come home and pull some prints!! Thank you for the continued inspiration.
Great interview, Julie! I was really excited to see that your guest this week was Lou Ann. I have been using Gelli plates for the last few years and each time I print, I learn something new. Your mom made an excellent point about them. They are portable and so convenient to haul out and get printing. I started out with a smaller plate and progressed to the largest one the company sells. If pressed today, I couldn’t tell you how many I currently own. I use them all the time in card making, creating my own gift wrap and of course, in art journaling. Great product! For anyone reading this, who hasn’t used one, I sincerely encourage you to add this tool to your craft room or studio.
I had to smile, Julie, when you said in the interview that you wonder some days whether you are shouting into the wind. I was one of those people who saw retirement as an opportunity to create. You were the first and most significant influence, as I started that journey. Your advice to discover and create your own original marks really struck a chord with me. Encouraging people to stand back and assess their own work, looking for what works and discovering what doesn’t, and learning to correct it has been a cornerstone of the process I follow each day, thanks to you! Also, your love affair with deli paper has taken me down the road of stencilling, which I love. Last, but not least, your emphasis on having fun reinforced my own motive for creating, in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Great interview, Julie! I was really excited to see that your guest this week was Lou Ann. I have been using Gelli plates for the last few years and each time I print, I learn something new. Your mom made an excellent point about them. They are portable and so convenient to haul out and get printing. I started out with a smaller plate and progressed to the largest one the company sells. If pressed today, I couldn’t tell you how many I currently own. I use them all the time in card making, creating my own gift wrap and of course, in art journaling. Great product! For anyone reading this, who hasn’t used one, I sincerely encourage you to add this tool to your craft room or studio.
I had to smile, Julie, when you said in the interview that you wonder some days whether you are shouting into the wind. I was one of those people who saw retirement as an opportunity to create. You were the first and most significant influence, as I started that journey. Your advice to discover and create your own original marks really struck a chord with me. Encouraging people to stand back and assess their own work, looking for what works and discovering what doesn’t, and learning to correct it has been a cornerstone of the process I follow each day, thanks to you! Also, your love affair with deli paper has taken me down the road of stencilling, which I love. Last, but not least, your emphasis on having fun reinforced my own motive for creating, in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Great interview, Julie! I was really excited to see that your guest this week was Lou Ann. I have been using Gelli plates for the last few years and each time I print, I learn something new. Your mom made an excellent point about them. They are portable and so convenient to haul out and get printing. I started out with a smaller plate and progressed to the largest one the company sells. If pressed today, I couldn’t tell you how many I currently own. I use them all the time in card making, creating my own gift wrap and of course, in art journaling. Great product! For anyone reading this, who hasn’t used one, I sincerely encourage you to add this tool to your craft room or studio.
I had to smile, Julie, when you said in the interview that you wonder some days whether you are shouting into the wind. I was one of those people who saw retirement as an opportunity to create. You were the first and most significant influence, as I started that journey. Your advice to discover and create your own original marks really struck a chord with me. Encouraging people to stand back and assess their own work, looking for what works and discovering what doesn’t, and learning to correct it has been a cornerstone of the process I follow each day, thanks to you! Also, your love affair with deli paper has taken me down the road of stencilling, which I love. Last, but not least, your emphasis on having fun reinforced my own motive for creating, in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Great interview, Julie! I was really excited to see that your guest this week was Lou Ann. I have been using Gelli plates for the last few years and each time I print, I learn something new. Your mom made an excellent point about them. They are portable and so convenient to haul out and get printing. I started out with a smaller plate and progressed to the largest one the company sells. If pressed today, I couldn’t tell you how many I currently own. I use them all the time in card making, creating my own gift wrap and of course, in art journaling. Great product! For anyone reading this, who hasn’t used one, I sincerely encourage you to add this tool to your craft room or studio.
I had to smile, Julie, when you said in the interview that you wonder some days whether you are shouting into the wind. I was one of those people who saw retirement as an opportunity to create. You were the first and most significant influence, as I started that journey. Your advice to discover and create your own original marks really struck a chord with me. Encouraging people to stand back and assess their own work, looking for what works and discovering what doesn’t, and learning to correct it has been a cornerstone of the process I follow each day, thanks to you! Also, your love affair with deli paper has taken me down the road of stencilling, which I love. Last, but not least, your emphasis on having fun reinforced my own motive for creating, in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Great interview, Julie! I was really excited to see that your guest this week was Lou Ann. I have been using Gelli plates for the last few years and each time I print, I learn something new. Your mom made an excellent point about them. They are portable and so convenient to haul out and get printing. I started out with a smaller plate and progressed to the largest one the company sells. If pressed today, I couldn’t tell you how many I currently own. I use them all the time in card making, creating my own gift wrap and of course, in art journaling. Great product! For anyone reading this, who hasn’t used one, I sincerely encourage you to add this tool to your craft room or studio.
I had to smile, Julie, when you said in the interview that you wonder some days whether you are shouting into the wind. I was one of those people who saw retirement as an opportunity to create. You were the first and most significant influence, as I started that journey. Your advice to discover and create your own original marks really struck a chord with me. Encouraging people to stand back and assess their own work, looking for what works and discovering what doesn’t, and learning to correct it has been a cornerstone of the process I follow each day, thanks to you! Also, your love affair with deli paper has taken me down the road of stencilling, which I love. Last, but not least, your emphasis on having fun reinforced my own motive for creating, in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Great interview, Julie! I was really excited to see that your guest this week was Lou Ann. I have been using Gelli plates for the last few years and each time I print, I learn something new. Your mom made an excellent point about them. They are portable and so convenient to haul out and get printing. I started out with a smaller plate and progressed to the largest one the company sells. If pressed today, I couldn’t tell you how many I currently own. I use them all the time in card making, creating my own gift wrap and of course, in art journaling. Great product! For anyone reading this, who hasn’t used one, I sincerely encourage you to add this tool to your craft room or studio.
I had to smile, Julie, when you said in the interview that you wonder some days whether you are shouting into the wind. I was one of those people who saw retirement as an opportunity to create. You were the first and most significant influence, as I started that journey. Your advice to discover and create your own original marks really struck a chord with me. Encouraging people to stand back and assess their own work, looking for what works and discovering what doesn’t, and learning to correct it has been a cornerstone of the process I follow each day, thanks to you! Also, your love affair with deli paper has taken me down the road of stencilling, which I love. Last, but not least, your emphasis on having fun reinforced my own motive for creating, in the first place. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cathy! So glad to know that Ive been a part of your creative journey!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cathy! So glad to know that Ive been a part of your creative journey!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cathy! So glad to know that Ive been a part of your creative journey!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cathy! So glad to know that Ive been a part of your creative journey!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cathy! So glad to know that Ive been a part of your creative journey!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cathy! So glad to know that Ive been a part of your creative journey!
What a great podcast! It was so interesting to hear about the inception of Gelli Plates. Personally, it also caused me a lot of introspection… I bought a Gelli plate about 18 months ago and it is still sitting in the package. Why? I think I am afraid that my first try won’t come out perfect. I am resolving to pull it out in the next couple of days and play and give myself permission to not love everything I do with it….but to enjoy the process. Thanks for challenging me!
What a great podcast! It was so interesting to hear about the inception of Gelli Plates. Personally, it also caused me a lot of introspection… I bought a Gelli plate about 18 months ago and it is still sitting in the package. Why? I think I am afraid that my first try won’t come out perfect. I am resolving to pull it out in the next couple of days and play and give myself permission to not love everything I do with it….but to enjoy the process. Thanks for challenging me!
What a great podcast! It was so interesting to hear about the inception of Gelli Plates. Personally, it also caused me a lot of introspection… I bought a Gelli plate about 18 months ago and it is still sitting in the package. Why? I think I am afraid that my first try won’t come out perfect. I am resolving to pull it out in the next couple of days and play and give myself permission to not love everything I do with it….but to enjoy the process. Thanks for challenging me!
What a great podcast! It was so interesting to hear about the inception of Gelli Plates. Personally, it also caused me a lot of introspection… I bought a Gelli plate about 18 months ago and it is still sitting in the package. Why? I think I am afraid that my first try won’t come out perfect. I am resolving to pull it out in the next couple of days and play and give myself permission to not love everything I do with it….but to enjoy the process. Thanks for challenging me!
What a great podcast! It was so interesting to hear about the inception of Gelli Plates. Personally, it also caused me a lot of introspection… I bought a Gelli plate about 18 months ago and it is still sitting in the package. Why? I think I am afraid that my first try won’t come out perfect. I am resolving to pull it out in the next couple of days and play and give myself permission to not love everything I do with it….but to enjoy the process. Thanks for challenging me!
What a great podcast! It was so interesting to hear about the inception of Gelli Plates. Personally, it also caused me a lot of introspection… I bought a Gelli plate about 18 months ago and it is still sitting in the package. Why? I think I am afraid that my first try won’t come out perfect. I am resolving to pull it out in the next couple of days and play and give myself permission to not love everything I do with it….but to enjoy the process. Thanks for challenging me!