Print Making (3-5)

This a fast and messy project, but the kids love it.

You Will Need the Following:

• Tag board
• Tempra
• Brushes
• Cotton Swabs, or dull pencil
• Drawing paper

Have the students spread a thick layer of paint on oaktag. Then, using a cotton swab, paintbrush handle, pencil, etc, have them etch a design in the wet paint.

Then have the students place a piece of regular paper over the oaktag and rub gently on the back of the paper. When they lift the paper up, the print will have transferred onto the paper.

It is very important that the students work quickly. They must etch while the paint is wet. So, it may be best to have them design work on a piece of scrap paper first.

The great thing about this project is that the oaktag can be painted over a second time, and an entirely new design can be etched into the paint to create another print.

Silhouettes (3-5)

You Will Need the Following:

• Drawing Paper
• Water color
• Paint brushes
• Black construction paper

This project will take about two 40 minute periods.

Explain what a silhouette is and that it is created when an object is lit from behind. The viewer does not see any details in a silhouette. Because of the lack of details, artists will use silhouettes when they want to draw attention to other parts of a piece of art. Or in contrast, silhouettes can be used to create drama in a piece.

Have the students fill a piece of white paper with water color. Stress that they are drawing a background only. They should not be painting any actual objects.

The second step is to have the students cut out small, medium and large objects. Explain that artist use size and placement in objects to create distance. If an object is close to the viewer it will be placed on the bottom of the page and will be rather large. If an object is meant to appear far away, it will be placed on the top of the page and will be smaller.

Encourage the students to do objects from nature, landforms, or architectural elements. And point out to them that the more complex their forms are, the more interesting their piece will be.