Printmaking Patterns

Grade 3 students set off on a wonderful printmaking journey this year by investigating pattern, symbols and space. 

They started by learning the difference between positive and negative space and practiced using their knew knowledge by designing and creating a notan. To plan their ideas they used the worksheet below that I had found on Pinterest.

After practicing manipulating positive and negative space, the students learned about Adrinka symbols and how pattern can have a special meaning. They designed their own special symbol while planning to create a rotational print. In order to see if their symbol would rotate, the students used the iPad app Pic Kids to check if their designs would rotate as planned.

 The students used EZ-Cut printing blocks to create their symbol as a stamp. Before printing, they used oil pastels to color a background that reflected their symbols meaning. Their final prints are absolutely fantastic!

Architecture Collagraphs

This year my Grade 1 PYP classes had the opportunity to investigate the wonderful world of architecture during our How The World Works unit. For our tuning in activity, we started out by investigating and comparing different architectural designs, asking each other: What makes one design more interesting or original than another? They loved learning about the inspiring designs by famous architects like Gaudi, Hadid, and Pei. 

Grade 1 students then set off creating some building designs of their own in their sketchbooks. The crazier the design, the better! They picked their favorite building after a few sketches and developed their idea into a larger drawing. We then stretched our creativity even further by investigating printmaking! Grade 1 students experimented with a variety of materials to see what kinds of marks each material made when printed. Here are some sketchbook examples below:

Grade 1 students then chose which materials they thought made the most interesting marks and set off creating a collagraph of their favorite building design on cardboard. This process took a few lessons to complete, and the students loved gathering, cutting, and gluing their own materials independently. 

Once their architecture collagraph was complete, we began the printing process! Here are some of their imaginative building prints after they have been printed and colored. 

International Dot Day

I love the book "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds, it is such a heartwarming story about how powerful art can be. As I am sure most of you know, International Dot Day takes place on September 15th. It is meant to be a celebration of creativity and individuality. What a perfect thing to acknowledge and celebrate in visual arts class!

During the week of International Dot Day, I read "The Dot" with my P1 and P2 classes and they loved it! After a short discussion of the book and brainstorming all the different types of possible dots that we could make, the students sat at their tables where I had provided paper and a variety of materials for them to choose from. I encouraged them with a line from the story, "Just make a mark, and see where it takes you."

The students had so much fun printing, coloring, and painting a variety of dots on their papers. 

The students were very engaged and took the project very seriously. Everyone wanted to come up with something new and different, not one dot looked the same as the other! 

              

They really had fun with this, it is definitely a lesson I will teach again!

A few weeks after their beautiful dots were born, I framed them all in 4x6 clear frames. I hung the colorful dots on the wall to make one giant dot, celebrating the students' unique mark making process. The P1-2 classes were thrilled to see their art displayed this way, and I am so proud of their hard work!

Kindergarten Architecture Prints

I stumbled across this art lesson while trying to come up with some new ideas for printmaking with my Kindergarten students. The original lesson can be found here: Smartest Artists. I really liked the idea of using simple materials to get a bold line for the architecture print.

At the beginning of the school year I had ordered a great book called "Roberto: The Insect Architect" by Nina Laden and have been wanting to share it in my classes for some time. I thought it would go great with this printing lesson! However, the book is quite lengthy for a Kindergarten class, so we mostly talked about the fun illustrations and different types of architecture seen through out the story.

After our book discussion, I asked the students about the different kinds of houses that they know. They described shapes, sizes, and materials that houses are built from. I then did a demonstration of how to print different lines and shapes on the paper to create a house.

Kindergartners began printing after the demonstration. They were really enthusiastic and the only materials used to print were different sizes of cardboard and recycled bottle caps for circles.

During the next class period we reviewed the different types of architecture discussed during the story and colored in the printed houses with crayon.

             

            

Gyotaku Printmaking

I have done this project with second grade students multiple times, and  as always we had a blast this year!

Gyotaku is a Japanese form of printmaking that began in the mid 1800's by fishermen. The fish were printed on rice papers as a record of the fishermen's catch. This type of printmaking is still being done today and is regarded as an art form. The prints themselves are actually very beautiful and detailed. 

I showed my students a video of a contemporary Japanese artist who practices Gyotaku printing. We then discussed how printmaking works and what kinds of materials are used. After questions had been answered, we began painting a background that would later be printed on top of.

The following class period is when the fun really begins. We print with real fish! There are so many gasps of excitement and surprised "eww's" from the students when I demonstrate what we will be doing.

Here are some photos of the different times I have done this lesson. The kids always have a great time and learn a lot about a new culture and art form. It is always a class favorite!