For very young students printmaking is a source of fascination and challenge. Opposite to drawing and painting, printmaking is an indirect process. To make a print, something has to be done to one surface; the block, in order to produce an effect on another surface; the paper. Cutting and gluing card to form a block, rolling the ink and transferring the image onto the paper becomes a ‘kind of magic’ that students love. If young students have had enough experience in cutting paper they will be able to produce a card print.
• Cardboard — Letter sized approximately 2mm thick. Allow one piece per student to use as a block
• 1–3 pieces of easy-to-cut cardboard, (cereal boxes, recycled manila folders are ideal) from which to cut out shapes to create the print
• 1 pair of scissors per student
• Chalk for drawing
• Plastic containers for glue. Allow 2 containers per group of 6 students
• 1 quart of school glue. Pour approximately 3 oz into each plastic container.
• 1 #6 hog hair paint brush per student used for glue application
• 8 foam trays to roll out paint
• 4 foam rollers 85mm wide
• 2 1/2 gallons of black (or any other dark color) Chroma 2 Intense & Opaque Heavy Bodied Washable Tempera
• Paper — Letter sized white printer/copy paper; 3 or 4 pieces per student to print on
• Newspaper to cover the tables in the printing area
• Masking tape to tape newspaper or plastic sheets on tables
• String and clothes pins to hang prints on to dry; a clothes drying rack is an alternative
• A bucket of water and rags for cleaning up
Discuss with your students themes and ideas suitable for card printing. Explain and demonstrate techniques to make and then print the block.
1. Room arrangement
The first task that the teacher will be confronted with will be establishing an appropriate work area. The printmaking arrangement of the classroom consists of four separate areas:
Preparation area – for constructing the block – cutting and gluing by the students at their desks, arranged in groups of four.
This project has been design to suit normal classroom conditions and illustrates how the classroom can be adapted to create working space required.
Inking area – for inking the block – a table covered with newspaper and set up with four sets of foam trays. Each set of trays is comprised of two trays—one tray into
which the paint is placed to roll up and the second tray into which the block is placed while the paint is rolled onto it.
Printing area – a clean, dry table where the A3 cartridge paper is placed and printed on with the paint coated block facing up.
Drying area – an area where clothesline or string can be strung and the prints hung secured with clothes pegs for drying.
2. Drawing large shapes onto the card
3. Cutting the drawn shape
4. Gluing the cut out shape
5. Block sitting in tray ready for the paint to be applied
6. Rolling up the paint ready to apply onto the block
7. Printing set up showing A3 sized paper with area for the block marked
8. A3 paper with centered block facing up
9. Gently rubbing the back of the paper whilst holding it in place with your free hand
10. Pulling the print
At the completion of the printmaking workshop, students would have learnt to simplify and enlarge shapes and to organize them within a space to create a design for printing.
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