Bringing it to the Classroom

Wrapping up the week with images from recent printmaking workshops with students in New Jersey through Young Audiences of NJ/EP (YANJ/EP).

Relief stamp (right) with print

We began by looking at logos and symbols from popular culture, Chinese characters, Underground Railroad, and West African Adhinkra story cloths.

Unique personal logo

We talk about positive/negative space creating dynamic relationships and how repeated designs create patterns.

The Process:
Working on 3" square pieces of cut mat boards and foam adhesive shapes they create their own personal logo and stamp.

The printing process for these is a simple 3 step...

1. Color the foam pieces with washable markers.

2. Damp- the stamps are pressed lightly onto baby wipes or a damp sponge

3. Stamp- onto paper with finger tip pressure onto the paper.

Awesome, simple... and fun!

Relief Stamp Print

I love coming into a classroom and helping students learn new skills and discover how creative they can be with just one simple printmaking workshop. This week the school I was in a school no longer has art so the kids really appreciated the opportunity to be creative.

Want to get fired up about the lack of creativity in our schools, listen to this great TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson.

Afterward, many of the students told me how much they loved the workshop. One young girl exclaimed to me-

"This was the best day ever!"

Bring it on, bring it in.