Chart paper; markers, crayons, pencils and various implements of different thicknesses for students to share (pencils, pens, skewers, etc.), VGA projector; ballpoint pens, 8 1/2" X 11" paper divided into 4 squares and two 3" x 4" practice pieces of scratch-foam per student.
Materials for demonstration: black paper, white paper, printing ink, brayer
Albrecht Durer's Rhinoceros
We are going to practice making plates today. We will engrave our textures into foam plates. Demonstrate how to engrave one of the student's texture drawings on styrofaom, using a pen, pencil, fork, skewer... questioning students as you work:
- What kind of mark do you imagine a tool like this might make?
- What will happen when I change how hard I press into the foam?
Students will refer to their drawn texture explorations and will engrave two 3" x 4" scratch-foam sheets using a variety of tools and grouping lines to create textures. They can trace over their marks with a ball point pen to deepen the grooves and allow them to see what they have done.
Select one of the students' plates and print it on white paper and then again on black paper.
- How are these prints different from the plate and from each other?
- What part of the plate carries the ink?
Ask students to research different printmaking techniques during library time or as homework. Some key terms might be: intaglio printing, relief printing, etching, lithography, linotype, collograph, photo silkscreening.