technique: monoprinting

A few months back Claire did a post about monoprinting with leaves and experimenting with using natural forms as resist. I've always loved monoprinting but for some reason my learners have never seemed to of engaged with the technique. For the past 6 weeks I have been teaching my AS Fine Art students a series of creative techniques before they take the plunge into their first project and the following technique captured their imaginations and enabled them to build and draw upon exciting layers!

Over the Summer myself and Claire were super lucky to find this idea on the NSEAD Online Facebook group. If you aren't a member then join - the wealth of resources shared with all levels of art educators is amazing. After a bit of a play with the technique I thought about how I could make it more advance for my students and this is where I experimented with masking tape layers and washes to build up the texture and tone within the print. This technique would work well for any initial responses or as a quick method of recording to change the direction of a project and more importantly all my students relished in getting messy, testing alternative drawing methods and combining medias!

Follow the below steps to give it a go with your classes this month...

What you need:

• Block Printing ink (water or oil based)
• Print rollers
• Acrylic paint
• Masking tape
• Newspaper / Magazines
• Cardboard or any mixed-media base
• Relevant imagery to monoprint / draw on top of

Method:

1) Take your base (cardboard works great as it enables your students to work on top of a new exciting media) and choose a light colour of acrylic paint to work on top of. It is important it is light so that the print and layers you are about to build up stay clear. I told my students to ensure the colour reflected the mood of the image they were studying or you could link it to colour theory. Dry with a hairdryer before proceeding to step 2.

2) Start to build up layers with masking tape - thinking about the direction and scale of strips applied. I taught my students a technique called 'masking tape transfer' to add more depth to their base. To create this technique, simply apply masking tape directly onto any printed image (magazines, newspapers, train tickets, etc work great due to the quality of the ink!). Once stuck firmly down to the image/text - simply peel straight off! You will be left with the ink on the tape and what's great is that the masking tape is still sticky and can be applied straight on top of your base.

3) Apply a thin wash of white acrylic paint on top of the masking tape layer to ensure your print will stand out.

4) Roll your ink on to the back of a printed image (make sure your image is mirrored so it comes out the right way!) and rub off the excess ink with spare newspaper. I used black ink so it made a real contrast to the yellow background layer but you could experiment with single/multiple colour ways! Once you have rubbed the excess ink off, place the inked image face down on top of your masking tape base and start tracing on top of your image with a biro or sharp pencil. Once you have completed your drawing remove the printed image and ta-dah! You have been left with a unique and experimental printed drawing like below.

Tip: Less ink is more and the sharper your drawing implement the better! Biro's are great. My students responded to a variety of mark making techniques and extended their learning by using creative drawing methods such as continuous line and adding tea/coffee into their prints for further use of layers/tone.

As always we'd love to see visual examples if you give this technique a try with your students and if you know any other creative printing techniques then contact us to make a guest blog appearance.

- Kirsty ❤

Digital: Fragment App

This academic year has flown by and like many of you in Further Ed I can't believe we're about to start the exam unit! With this in mind I realised my attention lately has been on the job and that it was about time I focused on sharing ideas that I've discovered on my journey.

Some of you may have already heard of this App but it is literally amazing.. and I am a teeny bit jealous that it wasn't invented when I was studying art and design. Fragment App first came to my attention when it was iTunes 'App of the Month' and my colleague shared it with me. At first glance, I knew it would be some sort of photo editing software but I didn't realise the potential it had in the classroom!

Straight away I tested the software with some of my student's work (above image) and discovered that it was perfect for adding geometric patterns and shapes to images. I was instantly hooked and saw how it could revolutionize the development and experimentation of my student's work. 

My students have responded to the App really well and I would say that in some cases it has saved their project work. Some of my students have created entire projects using the App and it is a brilliant way of getting digital work into a project quickly without the hassle of Photoshop.

Here are some of my suggestions as to how you could use the software in your classroom:

• Initial Responses: Engaging students with different ways of how to view their images - especially those who are most suitable to abstraction!
• Experimentations: Drawing, painting, collaging, weaving, layering, double exposures, etc.
• Sculptures: Print, cut, images and turn into unique photographic sculptures.

Fragment App is available through the iTunes store and works on iPhones/iPads/Androids as well as desktops! The App does cost - but it's definitely worth the couple of pounds and if you have a department account then you only have to pay for it once.. yay!

So, what are you waiting for? Deliver it as an exciting new technique to your students over the next few weeks and make their exam project stand out!

- Kirsty ❤

End of Year Exhibition

These are a selection of images of the work on display, if you'd like to see more please click HERE

I imagine there's plenty of us art teachers out there at the moment who've just endured the craziness that is the end of May/beginning of June marking, moderators and end of year exhibitions! My craziness is all over now, phew! So I thought I'd share some of the incredible work my students have created this year. To give it a bit of context, this year I have been on a one year maternity cover as curriculum manager for Textiles. I feel extremely lucky to have spent a year only teaching Textiles and to have solely taught our A2 students. It has been an absolute pleasure and I feel very proud of what my students have achieved.  As a newbie to the college I also thought why not challenge myself and so in collaboration with my students put on the first ever Fashion Show as part of the exhibition! It was brilliant fun and a great way to showcase the work in an appropirate context. It was also a lovely activity to end on with the students as it was a real celebration. You can have a look at some of their wonderful work in the video below... 

Hope you've enjoyed having a look at the work and if you are in the area it's open to the public till 19th June - you can find details of the exhibition, here and see a selection of work from the whole art department, here. 

- Claire ❤