Week 6 Instrumentalist Theory and Print Making

Instrumentalist Theory:

• Art is good if it has value or teaches a lesson
• Good art is not dependent on feelings or emotions portrayed by art form unless it also has value

Print-making:

• Techniques: woodcut, silkscreen, intaglio, engraving, dry point, sugar lifts, aquatints, etc..
• Etching (what you carve out will print b/c ink will stay in the grooves)
• Relief (what you carve out will remain white)

Possible Lesson Plans:

• For younger students: try potato/sponge painting, hand prints, marble paper (using shaving cream and food coloring), etc....
• For middle-aged students: try Styrofoam blocks, food trays, or printmaking (using an embroidery hoop, cheese cloth, and tempera paint mixed with flour), etc....
• For older students: try linoleum block printing (enforce safety) or silk screens (could make them out of material shower curtains, Modge Podge (or contact/freezer paper), frames), etc.....

Examples:

The stars were printed with my self made potato stamp. It is an example of a relief print.




This is an examples of an etching. It is made out of the Styrofoam food tray deals. You can just take a pen and carve into it. Put the paint in the indentations and then take a craft stick to wipe off any extra paint.











Here is my shaving-cream-and-food-dye-marbled-paper. This is a great print technique for any age really, but it is messy, so beware.


This is an example of the linoleum block printing. It is kind of tough, but still a cool print technique. Definitely only appropriate for older grades.










MY THOUGHTS
I love printmaking! It is so fun! there are so many different possibilities and ways to use printmaking. I think printmaking does take a little more attention to detail, especially if you are making the stamp. You have to make sure you don't make your stamp the wrong way or your words will be backwards ( I almost did that)

INTEGRATION
You could tie this into english by having students write a poem or a story, and then make a painting using stamps they have made. Or if you were learning about sea life or desert life you could have different students make different plants and animals that life in those habitats. Then all the students would "print" onto a class mural.