Sea Anemone Printmaking
What a delightful start to the year! I had Alex’s Year 3 and 4 class for their first art day of 2020 and we had a fantastic time together. The focus today was creating prints based on the corals and sea anemones found in the waters around New Zealand. We started the day by learning about coral reefs and the animals that inhabit them. We watched a couple of videos and had chats about the differences between sea anemones and coral. The students were amazed to learn that both are actually classified as animals not plants.
The students then chose where to begin their work for the day, either at the dyeing table or at the sketching table. At the sketching table the students drew pictures of coral and sea anemones, paying particular attention to transferring the lines and patterns they could see in the photographs. At the dyeing table the students used hot or cold coloured dyes to create beautiful backgrounds for their prints. They used the underwater footage that we had watched earlier as inspiration for their work.
The next part of the process was to draw stylised versions of sea anemones for a printing block. We used polystyrene printing blocks because they are easier and safer than lino boards for younger artists. I set out a range of different coloured printing inks and paper and let the students start printing. They learnt how to use the brayer to apply ink evenly to the printing block. The students printed onto different coloured paper with the aim of creating a run of 2 - 3 prints. The experimentation part of the process is always valuable. I like to remind my students that everytime we do art we learn something new. The students assessed each print that they made and then made adjustments in their process for the next print.
The last part of today's lesson was to make the prints for the final artworks. The students printed black ink over top of the dyed backgrounds that we made at the beginning of the day. I am very pleased with the independence and confidence that the students showed when making their final prints. There was such a buzz and flurry of activity in the art room as the kids completed these last prints.
I have mounted their final prints, a cold and warm print side-by-side, and plan to hang them in the entrance foyer of our school. It was a pleasure to observe Alex’s class taking part in today’s lesson with such enjoyment. I can’t wait to see them next time in the art room.
