Print making! What a simple and rewarding project to bring to any classroom. Print making is a way to learn and practice skills from basic motor control to image or design layout. There is lots of room in this project to explore colour, shape, and texture. As well, print making could be used cross-curricularly to connect math or science through a study of shapes or collected natural objects in primary levels.

The two types of print-making that I experimented with in this class (lucky me!) were block printing and mono printing.

Block printing can be done with wood, linoleum, or even potatoes, but for a simpler, quicker, and safer project with no knives required, Styrofoam can be used. Styrofoam can be bought new, but it would be cheaper and more environmentally friendly to wash and re-purpose meat or vegetable trays, so long as they have flat bottoms.

Mono printing can be done as more of a found-item art project. It is a great way to experiment with shape and layout, and generally produces a more abstract image than a specific design drawn onto a block. Some great materials to use include items found in nature on a walk, screen materials, bits of recycled materials, and shapes cut out of paper. Tools such as plastic forks or paint brushes can also be used to manipulate the ink before or after the printing process.

If you had the time and interest in your class, variations on screen printing could also be done. Taking a sheer fabric and painting Mod Podge onto the desired negative space could be something to experiment with. Homemade light tables and screens can also be made if screen printing is something that you wanted to make a staple medium of your art class or classroom. With a particularly self-directed and inquisitive student or two, the task of producing a light table could be a project in itself!