More Monoprints

I gave an introductory class recently and had the kids produce monoprints. It is one of my favorite lessons to teach because it requires little prep time and materials. It's also quick, fun, and is such a magical process. After making their print It's great to watch the children peeling  back their paper to see what they've created.

Fruit Contour Drawings

I took this lesson from the Art for Small Hands website. A piece of fruit is placed on each table, resting on a white sheet of background paper. The children are then asked to observe carefully and draw the contour of the fruit, as well as any defining lines. They may sketch in pencil first and add final lines with permanent black marker. Each fruit is then cut in half, and they repeat the exercise. Repeat again as a quarter piece, and finally only a core or peel etc. When all drawings are done, the children add color to their drawings with watercolor. We used apples and oranges and the children really took to taking a closer look at things that they wouldn't usually think too much about. Plus we had a lovely snack by the end of the lesson!

Styrofoam Plate Printmaking

Here is a lesson for a series of classes on printmaking and collage. We used 6x9 inch styrofoam plates and created simple geometric designs. I explained that the lines that they drew on the plate would be the white areas of their print, and the places they left blank would print the ink color. I shared a book of Native American designs and set out various round lids to trace if they liked. They drew out their designs in ball point pen. Then the children pressed their lines deep into the styrofoam again with the pen, a wood stylus, or a popsicle stick. I told them to feel the surface of the foam to see whether they had pressed deeply enough to create the valleys necessary to print a crisp image. We then used water-based printmaking ink and printed on white and colored paper to see the various effects on the printed image.