Submitted by Lydia Horvath, Alliance Academy of Toledo, Ohio
Unit: Printmaking - Pattern - Design
Lesson Title: Stamped Initial Patterns   
Level: middle school - high school (but could probably be used in upper elementary too)

Alternate Lesson: Use 1" Art Gum Erasers.

Content Standards:

-       Demonstrate mastery of materials, concepts and personal concentration when creating original artworks.

-      Critique their own works, the works of peers and other artists on the basis of the formal, technical and expressive aspects in the works.

Objective:

• create an overall pattern using rotation of design motif - stamp print

Terms and Vocabulary:

stamping, registration, grid, rotation, negative space, ghost print, matrix

Materials:

Smooth paper, cut to 12”x12” squares; mat board cut to 2” squares; books of lettering styles; adhesive-backed foam printing material, such as Inovart  (http://www.inovart.net/printmaking.htm) , cut to 2” squares; pencils, scissors, and rulers; Crayola® or other watercolor markers

Procedure:

1.    Students are introduced to stamping, a printmaking method in which a small matrix is created, and it is usually repeated to create a pattern.  Most students are familiar with this type of printmaking from rubber stamping, which makes it a good introduction to a printmaking class. 

2.    Students look through the letter style books, and choose a letter in an appropriate style (styles that are too ornate or too thin should be discouraged, since this will have to be cut out from thick material.)  The letter is drawn on the foam square so that it takes up the majority of the space – students should be reminded that too much empty (negative) space will detract from the overall impact of the pattern!  Let the students know that the backing for the adhesive foam is rather difficult to draw on – it is waxy and repels pencil and pen (try ultra-fine point permanent marker).  However, they only need a line they can see to cut – it doesn’t have to “look good”!  They won’t need to reverse the image if they are drawing on the adhesive backing. (Variation - students create any design of choice)

3.    Students cut the letter shape out, peel the backing, and stick it the way they want it on the mat board square (it doesn’t have to be “straight” – at an angle can be interesting and effective, too)

4.   Students cut out additional abstract shapes from their scraps of adhesive foam and add them to the matrix; again, effective use of negative space, as well as creativity of shapes, should be emphasized.  Very small shapes may be prone to falling off sometime during the printing process!

5.   Students create a 2” grid on their paper; they need to make their lines very lightly, to facilitate erasing when the design is done!  Math/measuring skills should be emphasized.

6.   Students ink their stamps by using AT LEAST 3 different colors of marker.  If they develop a “routine” for inking each separate area, it will be less likely for them to forget an area (some of the adhesive foam out there is black, which makes it nearly impossible to tell just by looking whether an area has been inked or not).  The direction of the marker strokes will show up in the stamped image, so students may want to take this into consideration!  Good registration is important to create an effective pattern.  They will need to press firmly and evenly on the back of the matrix, but pounding should be discouraged.

7.    Students will make a ¼ rotation each time they print – this is easier if they mark one edge on the back of the matrix, such as “top”.  Remind them to RE-INK each time they print, or they will end up with ghost prints! (Alternate: Students experiment with different rotations and decide what to do with their 12" square).

8.    If they need to clean the stamp off to change colors, they should stamp it several times on a damp (not wet or drippy) paper towel until it no longer prints, then stamp it on a dry towel.  This avoids “muddy” prints and muddy markers!

9.     When the design is complete, students erase pencil lines and fill out their self-assessment form.

10.  A group critique can be held to discuss craftsmanship, use of positive/negative space, and the overall effectiveness of various approaches.

11. Extension: Experiment with other types of pattern. Try glide pattern (no rotation) - Point of symmetry (rotate around a point to make a four block square - repeat process). 

12. Relate patterns to Islamic tile design.

13. Math Extension - Explore Escher patterns http://library.wolfram.com/explorations/explorer/Escher.html

 Assessment Rubric: (adapted from Marianne Galyk)

Student Comments:

Teacher Comments:

National Standards: (standards covered depend on how much class discussion and reflection)

1. Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes 
Students apply media, techniques, and processes with sufficient skill, confidence, and sensitivity that their intentions are carried out in their artworks
5. Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others 
6. Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines (make connections to math)

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