Print Making Art Project

The following art project is on print making. We did out print making art project with foam sheets and ink. One can create a template of any given picture and reuse it as often as possible to create identical prints. Our print making theme was on nature. Here is the print I created:

Materials needed:

·         Foam sheet

·         Print making ink

·         Roller/sponge

·         Paintbrush

·         Construction paper (different colors).

The steps in print making are as follows (the steps I took to create my art):

1.       Choose a nature scenery for your print making.

2.       Practice drawing the nature scene on a blank sheet of scrap paper to avoid messing up your foam sheet.

3.       Use the end of a paintbrush handle to draw a nature scene on a foam board. It is necessary to apply a fair amount of pressure on the drawing tool (paintbrush or pencil) to create an edge or outline of your scene. Avoid pressing to hard on the foam, though, so you don’t punch it through. Different line thicknesses should be used throughout the print to create texture.

4.       When finished drawing the nature scene, choose an ink color and construction paper color so that you have complementary colors (red-green, blue-orange, yellow-purple).

5.       Use a paint brush to put a glob of ink into a dish. Now roll the roller through the ink (make sure it has ink all over the roller).

6.       Roll the wet roller onto the foam paper; be sure to wet the roller in the ink as often as necessary to that you have a fair amount of ink on the foam. If there is not enough ink on the foam, you will not be able to get a good print on the construction paper.

7.       Once the foam paper has been filled with ink, grab the edges of the foam, and firmly press the ink side down on a piece of construction paper to create a print of a nature scene. Be sure to press down the foam on the center of the construction paper.

8.       Remove the foam from the construction paper to reveal the beautiful print.

9.       If not satisfied with the colors you used—blue paper and orange ink, etc. — or the outline of your picture, you may wipe the foam with a wet paper towel and redo it as often as you wish.

Engraved foam board with yellow paint on it

Extension project: This art project could easily be integrated into math by having students create their own flash cards with print making. The students could create their own addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division flash cards to take home and study. It would not be necessary for each student to make foam prints of all math facts; this could be a group project in which each student would work on different sets of (addition, subtraction, etc.) problems and use each other’s foam prints to create their own flash cards. This project would motivate students to study harder since they created the cards themselves.