Relief Printmaking Lesson - Foam Plate Method - Grades K-12
Jay Raymond
Objective
Students will learn about relief printmaking by producing an edition of prints using inexpensive materials such as a foam roller, foam plates, water soluble printing inks or acrylic paint, and cheap printer paper. Important art concepts will be addressed such as the history of printmaking, the processes of printmaking, the understanding of the difference between art reproductions and original prints, the elements and principles of art and design. The elements addressed include line, shape, color, value, texture. The principles include rhythm, balance, and contrast.
History of Printmaking
Download a very nice History of Printmaking pdf from Washington State University.
Relief printmaking - Any process in which the printing surface is cut away so that the image area alone remains raised on the surface. Ink is rolled across the surface of the plate and the raised areas receive ink while the areas that have been cut away do not. Wood or linoleum are most commonly used. For this project, foam will be used.
Paper was invented in China in 105 AD. You need paper to print, right?
The earliest known woodcut prints were produced in 1380 in Europe.
Tools
Ink - Printmaking ink and acrylic paint
Printing plate - Foam dinner plate cut into rectangle
Brayer - To roll ink on plate (small foam roller for painting trim in a house)
Baren - For burnishing the paper to transfer the image. (The artist's hand works fine)
Inking Plate - For rolling out the ink on the Brayer (foam dinner plate)
Paper towels - For keeping things clean including fingers
Newspapers - To protect work surfaces and provide for clean area to print
Impression tools - Ball point pen, pencil, scissors
Tape
Pencil or pen
Drawing paper - for designing the image
Printmaking paper - for printing images onto
Process
The Basic Process
1. Design your image.
2. Transfer your design to the printing plate.
3. Incise the design on the printing plate.
4. Ink the printing plate.
5. Transfer the inked design to paper and repeat all 5 steps.
The process in more detail
1. Trace your rectangular printing plate onto drawing paper. Design your image within the traced area of the drawing paper using a pencil. Make sure the final drawing has dark pencil lines.
2. Place the face of the printing plate down onto the drawing and tape the plate to the drawing.
3. Flip the drawing over so the plate is beneath it.
4. On the back of the drawing, scribble firmly with a pencil where you can see your drawing through the paper. The pressure of the scribbling will transfer the drawing from the paper to the plate.
5. Remove the tape and separate the plate from the drawing. Notice how the image is transferred in reverse.
6. Trace the image on the plate with a ball point pen or pencil or other object. Use enough pressure to indent the foam. The lines are in relief, and will end up as white in the final print. Large areas can be pushed down by scribbling carefully and compressing the foam. Closely drawn lines or marks will blend and appear lighter within the printed image. The use of thick and thin lines will create interest and depth, and textures can be developed by combining lines and marks.
7. Set up the printing station with an inking area where the plate will be inked, and a printing area where the prints will be made. It's important to keep extra ink off the areas around the image when it's printed. Place newspapers on the surface of both areas.
8. Position the inking plate in the inking area.
9. Position the printing paper in the printing area of the station so that it's ready to use.
10. Have a damp paper towel ready to clean fingers after handling the inked plate and prior to transferring the print to the paper.
11. Place the printing plate in the inking area.
12. Place a line of ink at the top edge of the inking plate.
13. Carefully spread the ink evenly on the inking plate in a contained stripe the width of the brayer by rolling the brayed forward and backward on the inking plate.
14. Once the brayer is evenly covered, roll the brayer on the printing plate until it is also evenly and solidly covered with ink. Do not over-ink, as too much ink will destroy the lines you so carefully incised. If you over-ink, though, don't worry! You can rinse the ink off your plate in the sink and start over.
15. Move the inked printing plate to the clean area of the printing station, laying it inked side up.
16. Carefully lay a piece of printing paper onto the plate, taking care to center the paper on the plate. Do not slide the paper once it's on the plate, as the image will end up blurred. Carefully begin rubbing the paper with your hand, increasing pressure until all edges, corners and the center of the plate have been fully burnished.
17. Carefully peel the paper from the plate and lay it print side up in a clean area to dry. Congratulations, your first print is created! Repeat all steps until you have printed an edition of prints from your plate. An edition is a finite number of prints created from your plate.
18. Allow the prints to thoroughly dry, and sign them beneath the image using the correct format with the edition number on the left, the title in the middle, and your signature on the right. The date can be included after your signature. Here are more details. See the example below:
Your edition is complete! Don't forget to clean up.
Sources for materials and tools
Printing plates - You can use foam meat trays or foam dinner plates. These can be found at any grocery store.
Inking plates - This is the plate you use to ink your roller. Use another foam meat tray or dinner plate for this.
Roller - Inexpensive foam rollers can be found at home improvement stores. The Home Depot Store has small foam rollers used for painting trim. Do not use rollers with a furry surface. The roller should be foam. If you have a choice, stiffer is better.
Ink - Water soluble printmaking ink is best, but acrylic paint can be used, too. Ink can be ordered online from Dick Blick.
Paper - Any paper will work. You can use cheap printer or copy paper, construction paper, or fun craft paper. Dick Blick has plenty of interesting paper, but you can buy locally at Walmart, Office Max, Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts, and any store that has paper.
Jay Raymond is a practicing artist and former art educator. You can see some of his work at www.jayraymondart.com.
**This lesson is available to the public at http://tinyurl.com/printfoamplate
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