Making Art That Matters
(Printmaking Option)
LESSON OVERVIEW:
Students plan and execute a relief print that attempts to protest or persuade. They focus on effective definition of shape, use of symbols, and impact on their intended viewers.
OBJECTIVES:
- Students learn that relief prints reverse the image from the block to the print. (Students must take care in reversing any letters or words as they plan their block.)
- Students learn how to plan a print that protests a situation or attempts to persuade its viewers to the students' beliefs.
- Students learn how to execute the steps in a relief printmaking technique (linoleum block, cardboard relief, or woodcut).
- Students learn how to use symbols to communicate ideas to their viewers.
- Students learn how to define shapes within a print.
- Students learn how to use negative, as well as positive shapes, effectively in their prints.
- Students learn how to formulate and share responses to classmates' artwork.
PREPARATION:
In preparation for class, make your own sample. It is advisable to plan the image in advance, remembering to focus on shape and remembering that letters and words will print in reverse. You can transfer a preliminary sketch onto a linoleum block by tracing the shapes of the sketch onto tracing paper, turning the tracing paper over, placing a sheet of carbon paper between the block and the tracing paper, and finally tracing over the outlines.
Prepare the block by removing areas not to be printed (or with cardboard,
by gluing raised areas to a flat base. Coat the entire cardboard "block
" with watered down white glue to seal the surface.). Place a small
amount of ink on a palette and spread ink evenly over the brayer (roller)
by rolling it on the palette. Next ink the block by rolling the inked brayer
over its surface. Place a sheet of paper over the inked block. Apply pressure
(with a press, using a wooden spoon, or by applying weight, such as a stack of books) to transfer ink to the paper. Carefully pull off the print. Expect some texture in printed
areas.
Click here to see linocuts made by high school students
ACTIVITIES:
 Art for Protest and Persuasion |
 Printmaking Lesson Index |
 Sensory Lesson Index |
Explain that students will be producing a linoleum block print related to an issue or situation that concerns them. Their prints should use shapes symbolically. Students should pay attention to negative as well as positive shapes. as they plan their prints. An alternative process is cardboard relief printing or, for advanced students, woodcuts.
Review the theme of Protest or Persuasion. Ask students to use the issue or concern they've identified and symbolic shapes they've developed in previous lessons, as starting points in designing their icons. You may want to show students examples of political, corporate, government, and other simple logos, as examples of how shapes can be defined and how positive and negative shapes can complement each other. Remind students to consider how the viewers they hope will see their printed icon may understand it.
Show your sample print and demonstrate the steps of the process for your students. You may want to ask your students to experiment with different paint and paper combinations and submit an "edition" of perhaps five prints that they believe are most successful.
Viewer Lesson Index
| Remind students that a most effective protest of persuasion print communicates its ideas to others who view it. When students have completed their prints. Divide your class into small groups and ask each group to exchange prints with another group. Ask each group to work together to respond to each print in turn. In preparing their responses the group should: |
