The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

We have moved right out of the mess of clay into the joyful mess of printmaking! I am pulling prints with every grade level and the drying rack is full of at least one thousand prints each day. I love the spirit of experimentation and the wonder of printmaking with the students. It does not seem to matter how often the students have created with prints, they always marvel at the results they achieve. I am going to try to switch out most of the art in the hallways before conferences so you can see the work in person. Photographs do not capture the beauty of the students work. 

The drying rack after only 3 classes pulling prints!

Kindergarten Art

I presented paper making to the students to tie into their study of the Chinese New Year and zodiac studies. The upper classes had made ample pulp for the students to use, so the kindergarten students were able to make a sheet of paper without having to prep the supplies. I gave lessons to 4 students at a time and they all were able to follow the many step process with minimal assistance from me. This is such a remarkable group of young students. While I worked with the paper makers, Pat Carey-Bell kept the other students on track gluing the zodiac figures in order. Following the completion of that unit, we began our printmaking lesson. This is the first exposure to printmaking for most students and it quickly turns into one of their favorite mediums in art. They created a zentangle image on a foam plate and we will begin printing this week. They practiced creating patterns first on paper, then transferred their best design on the foam plate. I look forward to presenting the inking and printing process tomorrow as it always makes me feel like an art magician! We will be glazing the ceramic bowls after the printmaking lesson is complete. 

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade

I introduced paper making to the students last week and they jumped right into making pulp. Each student contributed to the several bins of different colored pulp and chose the color paper they wanted to make. Each student received a small group instruction presenting the several steps involved in paper making. After guiding them through the first round of paper making, they could try the process independently. The more they tried, the easier the process became. Following the paper making, we began sketches for the foam plate printing. The 1st and 2nd grade students had a smaller plate while the 3rd grade students designed a full sheet print. The students used different colored ink and paper to achieve different results. As with the paper making, the prints improved the more prints they pulled. The students are always so excited to be able to see improvement so quickly.

                               

                               

4th, 5th and 6th Grade Art

The students worked diligently tearing up paper scraps and adding different colors together to create several bins of paper pulp for paper making. They are studying China in their core class and I wanted to show them a simple method of making paper. We ended up with 9 different colored pulps to choose from, so many options were available. Following the paper making, we began the printmaking unit. After sketching out ideas, the image was transferred on a foam printing plate. The students could try different colored ink on various colored paper to change the feeling of their print. They enjoyed printmaking so much they asked for an extra class to continue printing. I love the enthusiasm for the process.

7th and 8th Grade Art

We have had 2 solid weeks of printmaking and paper making in art. Several students requested making paper and I had the pulp already set up for the younger students. We had a few students experiment with printing on the handmade paper, but most were just excited to make a sheet of paper.  Students learned the block printing process. Block printing is one of the oldest types of printmaking and has been around for thousands of years.  There is evidence that it existed as early as the fifth century BC, with actual fragments found from as early as the fifteenth century.  It has been done around the world, with roots in India, China and Japan.  We used a rubber block to carve because the material is much softer to manipulate than linoleum. Students sketched several ideas before beginning the carving process and had a chance to practice on carving on blocks. Once the image was carved, they experimented with blends of ink colors, printing on colored paper or printing on found paper like sheet music or maps. I always love the experimental nature of the middle school students in art as they often come up with ideas I had not considered. I will try my best to get the prints displayed before conferences so you can all enjoy the creativity.

                                   

           

The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

Forgive the lack of a blog post last week, we only had 2 days of art, so I felt the information would be a bit sparse. Now that the weather is not so fierce and the temperature is better for firing the kiln, I have started all the first round of greenware firings. This will take a couple of weeks as the kiln is small and the students worked on some larger pieces this year. We will begin glazing all the ceramic work after all the pieces are fired, so please be patient with the final stages of the clay unit. 

Greenware waiting to be fired