Today's Lesson
In today's meeting, the students of Cooper Home experimented with printmaking processes. Students were able to create prints using carving tools on an easy cut block, or by using markers on plexiglass to create a monoprint. Students were asked to consider their favorite part about springtime when creating their art work. Teachers demonstrated safe carving techniques, inking, printing and monoprint methods to the students. The students explored the possibilities and limitations of creating prints using multiple printmaking techniques.
Essential Understandings
- Art can be created in a variety of ways and appears in different forms
- Art is a form of expression and symbolism
- Artists will understand printmaking techniques and the abilities of the media
Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Use tools in innovative ways to create line, shape, and texture
- Understand the capabilities and limitation within the printmaking medium
- Create multiple or unique prints using relief or monoprinting techniques
- Create art that expresses emotion or symbolism
Skills
- Using tools to create marks in innovative ways
- Identify characteristics of different printmaking processes
- Creative problem solving
In our third meeting with the group Cooper Home, the students explored printmaking techniques. The students experimented with carving techniques on easy cut blocks and monoprinting using markers and plexiglass to make images in this class period. After welcoming the students and introducing the project, teachers prompted the students to examine the sample prints provided at each workstation. We asked them "How do you the artist made this picture?" Most students hadn't experienced printmaking before so the interest and curiosity was high. Teachers modeled proper safety techniques when carving their blocks and the students began working.
For this art experience, we asked students to consider their favorite things about springtime for their art. One student exclaimed "I love spring because the flowers bloom, I want to make a bunch of flowers." Another student expressed his love of animals showed excitement about seeing more animals in the spring. Most students were extremely eager to begin working and just began carving into their blocks, while a few wanted to sketch their ideas out before beginning. Scroll down to see how this meeting unfolded!
For this art experience, we asked students to consider their favorite things about springtime for their art. One student exclaimed "I love spring because the flowers bloom, I want to make a bunch of flowers." Another student expressed his love of animals showed excitement about seeing more animals in the spring. Most students were extremely eager to begin working and just began carving into their blocks, while a few wanted to sketch their ideas out before beginning. Scroll down to see how this meeting unfolded!
This student expressed interest in re-creating a superhero he came up with recently. He stated "I drew this character out a few days ago and his favorite time of year is spring. I made a few different characters, but this one is my favorite so this is what I want to make today!" This student included his own symbolism in this art work. After sketching his superhero out, he began carving the block. Check out the video below of the student carving into his block.
The student immediately demonstrated her love of flowers. "In the spring the flowers are so pretty! There's so many beautiful ones I can't pick just one." After she sketched out some sample flowers, she proceeded to collage flowers onto her block.
This student expressed concern when drawing a wolf on her block. "This doesn't look right and I don't know how to fix it." After a teacher told her to simplify the wolf into simple lines and shapes, she exclaimed "That makes so much more sense! I was overthinking it way too much." She proceeded to fix the drawing on her block.
The student looked concerned when she carved a line she didn't like. "I can't erase this, I don't know what to do next." Upon discussion with a teacher, she stated "I can just make all of the lines wider so it'll hide my mistake!" She resolved this problem by making the lines on her block a little thicker. This student demonstrated understanding some of the limitations with the medium.
This student utilized her favorite treats for her art inspiration. In the creation process, she noted, "I think it's cool how the different tools make different marks. I like carving with the skinny and large tool." The student relied on the tools to create a variety of marks on her block. She clearly used the tools in innovative ways to create her art work. See the video of her carving in action below!
As this student continued on her flower carvings, she experienced some challenge. "It's pretty hard to make curved lines on these small flowers." As she persisted with experimented with the tools, the student realized if she went slow and rotated the block on her table, the lines would look cleaner. The student demonstrated understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the printmaking medium.
As students started finalizing their carvings on the easy cut blocks, they shifted their attention to the inking and printing station in the classroom. The students worked very hard and were intrigued to find out what their carvings would finally look like on paper! Check out the process below!
The video above depicts a student working at the inking station. The teacher explained to spread out the ink with a brayer and listen for a suction sound. Upon beginning inking the plate, the student seemed confused on how to go about it. As he began spreading the ink, the confusion seemed to dissipate. He said, "It sounds kind of like velcro! I understand now."
This student printed her block and stated, "I really want to fill in the white lines and make them black. How can I do that?" After some thought and conversation with others, the student resolved her dilemma by filling in the white marks with acrylic paint. She displayed innovative use and mixing of materials in this art experience.
The student examined the colors of the ink and considered her color options. She wondered "I wonder what it's like to mix inks?" After determining what color she wanted to make, she began mixing white and green. The student stated "It's just like mixing colors with paint!"
This student experienced some difficulty in the inking process. "There's a strip on my block that won't ink. How can I fix this?" Upon conversing with her peers, the student realized that she wasn't applying enough pressure. After this, the student pushed harder when rolling the ink on the block and resolved her issue. Check out the video below of the student inking her block!
Some students finished their block carvings earlier than others, so there was some experimentation with monoprints using markers on plexiglass. This student was dazzled by the process of this technique. She stated, "I never thought that you could do this with markers! This is so cool!"
As our third meeting with this group of students came to a close and the class cleaned up their supplies, students talked about the art they had just made in small groups. There were lots of great ideas shared and the students created exceptional work. Check out the gallery below of some of our students' work!