Week 11 Response

First of all, I LOVE the Paul Klee printing technique. I have never seen anything like it. I love how it kind of takes away absolute power from the artist and results in something so beautiful and unique. The final product is exciting and is a surprise. The effect and texture it creates is gorgeous as well. I think students of all ages would love to try this technique. My only concern is the process of setting up and cleaning up the oil based ink it requires. I'm glad we're adding things like color to these prints. They are too cool and have too much potential to just stop at this first step. It's good we made the distinction between a painting and a print and were told to only use simple washes. I think this complemented the printing technique without distracting from it. I think it might be interesting to add small details at the end of the process in black pen or a fine black marker. This would allow the students to bring a bit of control into a process that by nature does not allow for control. Here is mine, then a table with a few others'.

I was not sold on the corrugated cardboard prints. Even the very best ones I found to be mediocre, and most were a disappointment. The ribbed texture was interesting but was not a bold enough statement, even when we varied the paper, color, and amount of ink used. The texture could instead be incorporated into a different technique to use it to its full potential. It could be used in the collograph prints, which I have always been a fan of. They're so simple and have such great results. I was actually surprised at how successful they were in the project because of how small the variation of thinnesses we used were. Here is mine. This is actually my second one. I liked it better with the one image overlapping, but I don't think it followed directions.

I did like the stickers made from our corrugated cardboard plates better than the actual print. This could be a really fun thing to make, especially with younger kids. One change I would definitly make is having the student make stickers then make prints. I was sitting around for a very long time waiting for my ink to dry before I could continue. The class began to slow way down while most people had finished but we were still supposed to be working.

We did several small activities that I think could help a student feel more responsible and more like a real artist or printmaker. The first one was when we first began the class we discussed who needed to do what task to continue from last week. When we figured that out each group of us went and set up our own stations. Also at the very end of our printmaking we were to sign, date, title, and number our prints as well as clean them up and tear the edges. This makes a student feel like they are creating actual art. I also learned at A/P means artists proof.

Week 10 Response

We were very active during this class, making several different prints. Because of this I did not take the notes I usually take, so this might be brief.

The way we began was interesting because we had no idea what was going on. I was confused but it also took the pressure of of beginning a project. We were talked through the activity in small, clear instructions. "Cut the biggest shape that can fit into this square. Cut a big shape out of the first shape. Cut a small piece out of one side. Cut four of the most interesting legs you have ever seen. Cut six of the scariest teeth you've ever seen. Cut four of the same small shape, about the size of your thumb nail." I might have missed some steps or numbers, but this was the idea. We made many unusual shapes without having to imagine them for a specific body part, letting us be more creative in the actual pieces. We were only then told how to use these shapes and to glue them down. We repeatedly were told to lift our 'monster' to make sure everything was glued down and nothing was glued to the paper. This would be a great trick especially for little kids.

Our second plate was the most simple, the main portion being a silhouette of an animal. We were shown many example silhouettes and were told to do an actual animal. I might have not required this, but asked to keep in mind certain animal traits. When we finished cutting we were asking to make yet another cut which showed a little more detail.

For our last print we drew the scariest face we could think of and were told to keep it loose and not to add too much detail. I drew a wolf monster. This class was super relaxing and a preparation for week 11.