Art Teacher Diaries
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Curriculum

Reduction linoleum printmaking with art 2 high school students

1/18/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
Art 2 students created reduction prints using a 6"x6" block of safety cut linoleum. Students had to create an original drawing and plan for 3 colors + the color of the paper (most often white). Feel free to use my basic instructions with examples below! Reduction prints always seem far more complicated in theory than when you actually make it. One of the best ways to help students understand this is to have them practice on a very small piece of linoleum. Something simple like a flower is a good subject matter. See the process below.



Picture
Step 1 - Carve away areas you want to be the color of the paper. In this case, the middle of the flower. Use the lightest color of ink first. In this case, yellow was used first.
Picture
Step 2- Carve away the areas that you want to be your first ink color. In this case, the petals and middle of the flower were carved to preserve the yellow ink. Green ink was used next.
Picture
Step 3 - Choose your last ink color (this should be your darkest color, often black). Carve away the areas you want to be your 2nd ink color (in this case green). Everything else that isn't carved will be black!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
1 Comment

Endangered Species Series Foam Printmaking with 6th Grade Art Students!

1/29/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
6th grader's animal prints inspired by Andy Warhol's Endangered Species series
Picture
We just finished our foam printmaking project based on Andy Warhol's endangered species series. Each student got a styrofoam tray and cut off the edges so they had a flat piece of foam. Before students started carving, we had a critical response discussion about Andy's endangered species series. I had students discuss the following after showing them "Grevy's Zebra":
-What do they notice? (No judgments "I notice....")
-What does it remind you of? (memory, song, experience, another artwork, etc.)
-How does it make you feel?
-What do you think the artist was trying to say in this work?

This took approximately 25 minutes, but it was a great way to get my kids really looking at the artwork. They also brought up some really good points
Picture
Mayo Clinic collection of Warhol's Endangered Species series
Picture
The cool thing about living in Rochester is that we actually have a set of Andy Warhol's Endangered Species Series here at the Mayo Clinic. They are free to view, however, they do not do field trips or tours. This was fun, since some of my kiddos said they had seen this artworks in real life. 

After our discussion about Andy Warhol's work, I had students choose an animal to draw. I tiered the assignment so students of all abilities could feel a sense of accomplishment. The lower level students were allowed to trace an animal. The middle level students were allowed to draw from observation by looking at a picture of the animal. The higher level students were encouraged to draw the animal from memory or based on an idea. This allowed my gifted and talented students a little more freedom and independence, which I think they enjoyed. It also allowed my lower level students to feel like they could create an awesome work of art. I'm not a huge fan of tracing, but it has it's time and place in every art class.

Once they drew their animals, they had to show me their drawing in order to get their foam. They taped the paper to the foam and started tracing over their design. They went over their designs with a blunt pencil or mechanical pencil with no lead. Next, we started printing! After they printed 3 different prints, I had some students outline their lines with oil pastel to add an Andy Warhol look to their work. You can view the demo video I played for my students at the end of this post. View examples of my students work below.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Social Issue Printmaking Project

1/25/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture

This project was quite extensive, but one of my favorite projects I have ever taught! We spent a day having a class discussion about the work of Shepard Fairey and the way Shepard Fairey uses visual art as a way to draw attention to a particular social issue such as pollution, inequality, and greed. We also talked about the works of Banksy and Ricardo Levins Morales (Minneapolis-based activist artist). We listened to a Podcast interview of Ricardo and his work. Listen to the podcast of Ricardo Levins Morales on MPR here.

Students were first asked to brainstorm different social issues. At first, some students really struggled thinking of ideas. For the kids who struggled, I asked them what they liked. For example, a student said he liked music. I asked him if he knew of any problems in the music industry. He immediately said "Piracy", "Inequality", "Sexism" and "People need to support local music more".  These are all great examples of social issues that tie into a student interest. Some examples of social issues chosen by students for this project include marriage equality, racial equality, saving and protecting animals, recycling, protecting the environment, religious equality, self esteem, perfectionism, anti-bullying, and greed.

One issue I did run into was I had one student who wanted to do a design based around legalizing marijuana. Even though I personally didn't find this offensive, I knew it would be an issue since I teach at a public school! Drugs are bad...mmmk? So I had to explain to the student that while I am all for freedom of expression, that I would appreciate it if he chose a different, more school appropriate topic. I dislike the idea of censorship in my classroom, but there's got to be a line drawn somewhere, right?

Next, students were given the challenge of illustrating that social issue. The goal was to create a design that clearly illustrated the chosen social issue. Some students did better at this than others. Each student had to show me their design plan in order to get their linoleum. Students used a 6B ebony pencil to outline their design plan, flip the plan on top of the linoleum, and burnish the design onto the linoleum. This helped students keep their words & letters backwards when carving without having to worry about writing the letters and words backwards.

Finally, students started carving their designs! View my demo video below for complete instructions.

Students were asked to create 6 different prints and choose 3 for display. After they finished preparing their prints for exhibit, they were asked to write an artist statement. Two of the guiding questions for their artist statement was "How can art change the world?" and "What is visual art's relationship to society?". Some of the responses I got were truly inspiring. Overall, I loved this project and how it engaged all of my students!

1 Comment
    Picture

    Mrs. Quam

    This is my 12th year teaching art & graphic design! I have taught both middle and high school. I truly enjoy working with students on a daily basis. I also enjoy teaching real-world skills such as problem solving, using technology, and the power of teamwork and collaboration. My joy is sharing my passion for art and graphic design with others!

    Picture
    Check out and subscribe to my Youtube channel to see demo videos on art and graphic design lessons 

    Archives

    December 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    September 2023
    July 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Abstract Art
    Animation
    Art History
    Art Show
    Burrito Book
    Ceramics
    Chuck Close
    Classroom Management
    Collaborative
    Color
    Color Wheel
    Community
    Conferences
    Dale Chihuly
    Digital Art
    DIY
    Drawing
    Expressionism
    Final Exam
    Games
    Graphic Design
    High School Art
    Illustration
    Islamic Clay Tiles
    Living Sculpture
    Logo Design
    Medieval Art
    Middle School Art
    Modigliani
    Multicultural Art
    Native American Art
    Oil Pastels
    Parents
    Pattern
    Perspective
    Photography
    Pop Art
    Printmaking
    Sculpture
    Self-portraits
    Shepard Fairey
    Sketchbooks
    Social Issues
    Strategies
    Summer
    Teaching Tips
    Technology
    Tools
    Visual Journals
    Wayne Thiebaud
    Zentangles

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo from Rob Qld
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Curriculum