Arts Update: Painstaking Printmaking for Seventh and Eighth Graders
This week, after starting the intensive by creating a sketchbook and then learning Kumihimo–a traditional Japanese braiding technique–the seventh and eighth graders in the Buck, Carter, Hannum, and Klock cohorts have been busy making prints. Challenged to create a series of collagraph prints that explores the themes of connections/intersections, students first created two relief printing plates from lightweight cardboard, and then covered each with aluminum foil. To print the plates, students used an unusual ink–water-based markers–which they applied directly onto the foil. Students needed to dampen their printing paper before pulling the inked image from the plate; as they worked they discovered and identified the skill and concentration needed to ‘pull’ a successful print. Next week the focus will turn to sculpture, and again, students will be challenged to use everyday material as their medium. Stay tuned for the details and results!
