1st Grade: Moody Self Portraits Part 2

The printing process is almost done! Printmaking is the process of making copies of an image, much like stamping. To print an image a print plate must be made from the original drawing. Each self-portrait was taped to a sheet of styrofoam. The students traced their drawings, pressing hard, so that their lines became indented in the foam. When finished, their images have been transferred to the foam and are ready to print.

Just like a stamp or computer printer uses ink, so does the artistic process of printmaking. We use a special roller called a BRAYER to apply the ink to the print plate. A brayer is similar to a paint roller used to paint walls, but is made of rubber. Once the print plate is covered in ink a piece of paper is laid over the plate and rubbed to make sure the ink successfully transfers to the paper. The paper is the pealed off of the plate to reveal the printed image!

Before printing, we discussed how colors can relate to feelings. For instance, when someone says "I'm feeling blue," they are saying that they are sad. Each students selected 2 colors to correspond with their chosen feeling in their self-portrait. One color was used for the ink and one for the paper. 

We then reflected on our chosen feelings and the things that make us feel them. 

To view all of the finished prints please visit https://sites.google.com/site/mrsrart/student-galleries and select a class.