Cardboard Relief Prints

The first Art Unit for the new school year has to do with exploring a variety of media, and because my students are Visually Impaired, (and because I just unpacked a bunch of Ikea furniture) I thought the corrugated cardboard would be a fun way to get us started on our art making journey. Students would choose shapes or images, and I would print them out, and after they placed them, I would trace them with a box cutter or X-Acto knife (safety first). 

Students would wet the shapes they wanted to remove with a wet paint brush, and after a minute or so the glue would dissolve and they could peel back the top layer of cardboard to reveal all the corrugated bumps. Another layer could be removed completely if they wanted three values (light, medium, and dark). 

Then students used a brayer and relief ink to evenly cover their cardboard with ink before placing a piece of paper on top and rubbing it thoroughly with their flat hands.

Once they had a print, they could make another, or they could work into their first print in several ways. It's important for the ink to be dry before adding layers so it doesn't smear around, but some students rubbed chalk pastel in parts to add a little color, while others used marker for something bold. The original printed image that was cut at the beginning of the process could also be used for a stencil either to hand color or spray paint. Some people made their prints on patterned paper to add a layer of interest without having to add anything without any post-print additions. I love how the cardboard texture adds such a distressed or vintage look to the images, and the areas of richer black make a bold impact. I wish I had experimented with this years ago, and may need to buy a gel plate to take the printmaking to the next level in the future.