Art I'm Looking At: Teaching Printmaking

Today was the last day of what ended up being a six-week course in printmaking I taught at the Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. I hope the kids (fifth graders) enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed teaching it (they seemed to). I was extremely impressed by the work these first-time printmakers did. We covered a variety of printmaking methods including etching, styrofoam "etching," collography with found objects, block printing, and linoleum block printing. The kids learned the basics of each technique; how to roll out ink and ink plates/blocks (which went reasonably well despite the cheap tools and inks the school was forced to use because of lack of a budget for anything better); how to print and title, number, and sign an edition; and matting.

Today, the last day, the students critiqued their work. The top photo shows the work of a single child using the styrofoam "etching" technique, a linocut, and a found object collograph in two colors. The second photo shows one of the most interesting linocuts the kids did. Entitled "Cat to Sun, Dog to Moon," this is by an 11-year-old printmaker that had had no prior experience. It's easy to underestimate what it takes to create a narrative work like this or the dexterity required to cut so intricate a design at this age. Very cool indeed.

Art I'm Looking At: Teaching Printmaking

During the past six weeks or so, I've been helping the art teacher at the Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts teach printmaking to the 5th graders. We've looked at techniques ranging from etching to collograph printing to woodblock, to styrofoam and linoleum block printing.

The mini-course is finishing up now, but I've been very impressed with some of the work of these first-time printermakers. It's been a pleasure to watch them become comfortable using cutting tools (only one cut finger so far!) and become expert at rolling out ink and applying it to blocks and plates for printing. They've learned to use the Japanese baren for applying pressure (or at least a cheap plastic version of the baren). They've learned to print, sign, and number an edition, choosing the best impressions for inclusion. I think we may have bred a printmaker or two.... They've been having a lot of fun, and so have I.