Summer Learning 2020 - Printing with Found Objects Around the House
This summer I’m taking an online course called, Printmaking without a Press. I absolutely love doing art projects with my students and have always been intrigued by printmaking. The first type of printmaking we learned about was printing with found objects. What are found objects? They are simply objects that you find around your house or your classroom. When I made my own prints, I spent a few days looking for objects that a) I didn’t mind getting paint on b) looked through objects in my recycle bin and c) looked for objects that had different sides that I could use in a variety of different ways when printing. The objects that I collected were: a coffee cup lid, a coffee cup sleeve, paper clips, binder clips, cherry tomato basket, contact lens case, and plastic fork. I was also assigned to make a variety of different prints. I had to make a single print (with just one object), a patterned print, a multiple object print (using three or more objects), and lastly creating a print on another type of media (cardboard, plastic, fabric, newspaper, book, etc.). Once I started printing with these objects, I realized there were so many different ways that you could create a print with each object.
Materials
Objects that can get painted
Paint (washable paint, acrylic paint, block printing ink, etc.). My school has washable paint, which is what I plan on using with my students
Soft rubber brayer or paint rollers (to roll out the paint). If you didn’t have access to these materials, I bet you could also use a paint brush to brush a layer of paint out.
Material for printing, which includes paper, newspaper, magazines, books, fabric, and cardboard
Process
Choose the color of paint that you are going to use. You need to “roll out” or spread the paint, so you can stamp your object in the paint. You can paint directly onto a table or counter (which works if you’re using washable paint), or you can use a paper plate for the paint.
When the paint is rolled out, stamp an object into the paint.
Choose which type of material you will be stamping onto. Take your object (which has the paint on it) and stamp it onto your material of choice.
Activity Ideas for the Classroom
This online course is specifically for K-12 teachers. After we complete an assignment, we reflect on the ways that we can adapt this activity for the classroom. This past year I taught Kindergarten and next year I will be teaching 4th grade. I could see doing this activity with Kindergarteners as well as 4th graders! Thinking about next school year, I think printing with found objects would be a fun activity to do with my class at the very beginning of the school year as a classroom community activity. The objects that I picked for my prints are objects that I use almost every day. I would ask my students to bring in objects from home that they use on a weekly basis so they could create a multiple object print. I would have my students create a print inspired by something they value and/or create a print that represents who they are. This would be a fun way to build community and get to know each other in a unique and different way. We would learn about each other based on the objects that they bring in and use on a weekly basis, as well as learn more about each other based on the print they make. I love starting the school year with lots of art projects, because the walls in the classroom are always bare and I love to decorate and fill the walls with student work. This would be a great art activity to display in the classroom.
In addition to the multiple object print, I would also have my 4th graders create bookmarks with the objects that they bring in. With the bookmarks, I would give my students access to different types of materials: old books, magazines, newspapers, cardboard, tagboard, etc. I would also show them ways to make single object prints, repeating pattern prints, and multiple object prints on alternative media. My students would get to choose which paper materials to use, the paint colors, and type of print. When they finish their bookmarks, I would laminate them, and then they would be able to use their bookmarks for reading. This would be a great beginning of year activity to foster reading engagement, because students are given ownership in creating their own bookmarks to use during reading.