Cardboard Relief Prints

One of our first assignments for the year was a relief print using cardboard as a matrix. Students found or created a drawing that they taped to cardboard before I traced with an X-acto knife. Once there was an outline cut, students could 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. Some students removed entire parts of the coardboard  to create 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 work back into it 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 bold colors. Some people made their prints on patterned paper to add a layer of interest 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.

 

Clay Slab Vases and Wall Vases

You don't need a potter's wheel to make functional pottery, a slab roller, or even just a rolling pin will do the trick. Students learned the "slip and score" (or "score and slip" if you want to be chronologically accurate) technique through this process.

 First they rolled a slab. Next they traced a circle around a jar, and rolled the right amount of clay around the jar to match the circumference. Textures or pictures were pressed or carved into the rectangular surface. Then they scratched around the edges of the circle with the needle as well as the bottom of the rectangular vase side. They they painted some slip on the scratches. Slip is clay that is mushy enough to be a thick liquid. Finally, they pressed the pieces together and used a wooden tool to join the edges and cover the seams. It's a project that can be done in an hour long class period for some instant gratification.

A modified version of the slab vase is a wall vase. It's just a shape cut from a slab of clay, with a pocket attached to the front after pressing stamps or objects in the front for texture. Rather than glaze the bisque-ware, my students just dry brushed it with acrylic to reveal the texture. This can be hung on a wall with a ribbon with small dried flowers tucked in the pocket.