Printmaking for Social Change: Visual Arts for grade 10-11

Time Frame

Each class is 50 minutes in duration. In order to allow students as much time as possible to work, this lesson will span four class periods.

Rationale

Students will become familiar with the Japanese cultural and esthetic concept of wabi-sabi via this introduction to book-binding, ink painting, and artistic risk-taking in a controlled setting.

Quebec Education Competencies

Cross-Curricular Competencies (Secondary Cycle Two)

Solves Problems (adopts a flexible approach; reviews the steps taken; redoes some of them if necessary; identifies successful strategies and analyzes the difficulties encountered)

Students will make one attempt at painting with ink on their smaller piece of TerraSkin, and will participate in a verbal discussion in which they will identify any problems they encountered in this experiment before attempting their larger sheets. In class, students will demonstrate flexibility in pursuing their possible solutions and alternative techniques to address the problems they have identified. In the homework, students will continue to analyze the components of the situational problems presented by each unfamiliar type of paper, and will continue to adopt a flexible approach in applying possible solutions to these problems.

Uses Creativity (becomes familiar with the elements of a situation; explores; adopts a flexible approach)

Students will become familiar with the concept of wabi-sabi, which is credited to the sixteenth-century tea master and Zen monk Sen No Rikyu. Students will then become familiar with the artist Jun Inoue, and will draw connections between wabi-sabi and Inoue’s work. Students will accept risks and the unknown in this project, and will explore the new strategies and techniques offered in order to express themselves in new ways. Students will demonstrate a high level of originality in the connection made between the different elements of this lesson, and will demonstrate flexibility in the application of the new ideas presented to them.

Visual Arts Competencies

Creates Personal Images (uses ideas to create a personal work; uses transforming gestures and elements of visual arts language; shares his/her experience of personal creation; organizes his/her visual arts production)

Students will explore various ways of conveying creative ideas through images, and will keep a record of their ideas in their notebooks. Students will identify the important elements of their experiments, particularly what they have learned and the methods used, and will then choose the most meaningful gestures and elements in relation to their creative intentions. Students will examine their choices of material and language, as related to his/her creative intention and makes adjustments based on artistic choices. Students will present a summary of this process when they present their final artworks to the class.

Appreciates Images (analyzes an image; constructs his/her interpretation of the image; shares his/her appreciation experience; makes critical and aesthetic judgments)

Students will identify the material and language elements of Jun Inoue’s artworks, as well as their elements of meaning. Students will make connections among these elements that they will reinforce through their own artistic explorations with various paper types. Students will identify what they have learned and the methods used. Students will make full use of the appropriate subject-specific vocabulary, and their homework sketches will indicate substantial reflection on one or more objects that represent wabi-sabi, using three or media and paper types. (Note: This lesson is meant to activate and build upon previous learning. It will immediately follow a lesson about Street Art, so students will already be familiar with the street art elements evident within Jun Inoue’s works.)

Materials

Instructor

- PowerPoint presentations for Lesson One and Lesson Two, to be shown on the SmartBoard or overhead projector (see beginning of post);

- Prototype (also pictured in PowerPoint);

- FW acrylic ink set (Emerald Green 335, Sepia 251, Process Cyan 120, Scarlet 567, Lemon Yellow 651, Process Magenta 412, Black 028);

- 340 lb. TerraSkin paper (two sheets, 9”x18” and 3.5”x4”); (Note: This material can be substituted for watercolour paper for lower-SES populations, but this is the ideal choice because it is almost certainly a new material for students and its durability and flexibility make it an ideal notebook cover.)

- Pre-sorted bundles of different 8.5”x11” paper types, including:

- Pre-printed scrapbook paper, various designs, 75lb.,

- Drawing paper, assorted tints, 60 lb.,

- Tracing paper, 25 lb.,

- Dot paper, 57 lb.,

- Mixed media paper, 98 lb.,

- Toned tan sketch paper, 80 lb.,

- Marker paper, 18 lb.,

- Graph paper, 15 lb.,

- Copy paper, 20 lb.,

- Parchment recycled paper, 24 lb.,

- Glossy coated advertisement paper for flyers, any weight;

- Note: These are the paper types this lesson has been taught with so far, but any combination of paper types will suffice. The most important factor is that there are as many new paper types as possible for students to experiment with.

- The same paper types as above, in 9”x12” format;

- Plastic drinking cups for water;

- Small plastic cups for ink;

- Paint brushes, assorted;

- Brown paper towels;

- Bookbinding needles or equally thick, blunt tapestry needles;

- Linen thread;

- Linen tape;

- Pre-printed guides for making the holes in the papers (see PowerPoint at beginning of post);

- Uline Glue Dots (lines variety);

- Oversized push-pins;

- Assorted small cork boards (9”x7” to 9”x12”)

- Water pitcher (if there is no sink in the classroom);

- Books, including:

- “Wabi-sabi Art Workshop: Mixed Media Techniques For Embracing Imperfection And Celebrating Happy Accidents” by Serena Barton (2013);

- “Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence” by Andrew Juniper (2003).

Students

- Three or more sheets of 8.5”x11” paper. The sheets must be different from one-another, and may include lined paper, newspaper sheets, magazine pages, gift wrap, or any other papers the students feel inspired to experiment with.

- A variety of drawing tools, including pencils, pens, markers, pastels, pencil crayons, watercolour sets, crayons, or anything else they would like to test on their papers.

Vocabulary with Age-Appropriate Definitions

Wabi-Sabi

A Japanese concept of beauty that comes from Buddhist teachings. It is not a style of art in itself, but rather a way of looking at life so that asymmetry, irregularity, and modesty are seen as attributes of beauty and authenticity. Imperfection is accepted and embraced, especially as part of growth and development.

Ephemeral

If something is ephemeral, it is not forever. Ephemeral art must be appreciated as it is when it occurs, because its very nature is to change or disappear. Performance art can be ephemeral, as well as certain types of installation art and some kinds of street art. What else can you think of?

Paper Weight

Paper thickness is described in terms of its weight. It can be referred to in either pounds, bond pounds, or GSM (grams per square meter). GSM is the most consistent system, but North American paper manufacturers mostly refer to paper weight in pounds. Lightweight papers include tracing paper and most lined and graph papers, medium-weight papers are about the thickness of a magazine cover, and heavyweight papers range from the thickness of a postcard to Bristol board and even thicker.

Paper tooth or toothiness

This refers to the texture of the paper surface. The rougher the surface, the more “toothy” it is. Toothier papers are generally better for dry media because they hold on to the tiny dry particles of graphite, charcoal, etc. well. The less toothy the paper, the better it is suited for wet media like markers that you might not want to bleed. Experiment with toothiness to get different effects with the same medium.

Signature

A bundle of papers, folded in half for binding. Some books have one signature, others have several.

TerraSkin

Most papers are made using cellulose fibres, which come from plants (usually trees). Transforming trees into paper is a lengthy process with a huge environmental impact. It takes lots of energy, harmful chemicals like bleach, and lots of precious clean water to produce cellulose-based paper. TerraSkin is an alternative that uses a stone called calcium carbonate and a non-toxic resin called polyethylene to make a thicker, water-resistant, tear-resistant paper. It will stand up to regular wear better than regular paper. The stone is naturally white, so there is no need for bleach, and it requires less ink for printing and drawing because it has no fibres to soak up the water in the ink, allowing it to sit on top instead. It uses no water in its production, and takes 50% less energy to produce than regular paper.

Pre-printed scrapbook paper

This is a medium-weight paper that is used as a background in scrapbooking. It is usually offered as an acid-free paper to make it last longer for scrapbooks.

Toned drawing paper

This is on a medium-heavyweight paper with a speckled look that works well with pastels and other heavy media. It is tinted so that lighter colours like white and pale yellow show up better.

Tracing paper

This is a very lightweight paper that allows you to see the layer beneath it very clearly; ideal for tracing, transferring, and layering.

Dot paper

This is a smooth lightweight paper with evenly-spaced dots printed on the surface. This is ideal for drawing images you might want to reproduce later using the dots as a point of reference.

Mixed media paper

This is a versatile heavyweight paper type with one smooth side and one toothier side. It can get wet without deforming too much, unlike lighter paper types, and is strong enough to withstand plenty of drawing, erasing, and re-drawing. Put its name to the test and see how many media you can mix on it!

Toned tan sketch paper

This medium-weight paper’s brown tone can lend an earthy sepia look to your sketches. Like the toned drawing paper, it is light enough to let dark marks show but dark enough that light marks stand out on it.

Marker paper

This is a very lightweight, smooth paper. The fibres in it are very short, which helps to keep ink from bleeding on its surface, and its thinness allows you to use less ink to get a heavily-saturated look.

Graph paper

This is quite lightweight and is usually used for charts, graphs, and diagrams. The squares are four to an inch, allowing for quick and easy measurements. How can you incorporate the grid into your sketches? What media do you think would work best with this paper?

Copy paper

This is a lightweight paper that you would normally find inside a photocopier. It is not very toothy at all, because a toothy paper would leave lots of loose fibres behind in the machine that would eventually cause it to jam. The goal in its production is to have each sheet be as uniform as possible, to allow for consistent printing from one page to the next.

Parchment paper

This medium-lightweight paper has short fibres and is not very toothy, which makes it a preferred paper for classic handwritten letters, certificates, and calligraphy. A lot of people find its mottled appearance charming and old-fashioned, though the paper’s actual thickness and quality is usually very even throughout the sheet; the differences in colour do not affect the quality of the image or text.

Brochure paper

This medium-weight paper has a special coating on it to make it glossy. Underneath the coating, though, the fibres are quite long. It might be interesting to experiment with this quality in your research.

Acrylic Ink

Acrylic ink is made up of a pigment suspended in a liquid acrylic base. Pigment is coloured powder that is used in paints and inks, and acrylic base is a colourless substance that varies from extremely liquid to very thick pasty consistency. The acrylic base allows the ink to become water-resistant once it has dried, because when it dries it gives the little pigment particles inside strong, clear protection. The acrylic bonds very well with the TerraSkin, which is why we are using it for our covers. The inks available to you today are green, brown, cyan, red, yellow, and magenta.

CMYK

This stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key black. These are the primary colours used for most printing, and by combining them you can get any colour you like. You have cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink available to you today, so see what colours you can create with them.

Linen thread

Linen fibres come from the flax plant, and they are very long; much longer than cotton or many synthetic fibres. This makes them very strong when they are spun into thread, which is why we are going to use them to bind our books. Long fibres mean that if a few break at a high-stress point, the thread won’t snap because there are lots of other fibres holding it together. Linen thread is generally favoured when binding books by hand. Hemp cord is a nice alternative too, because it also has long fibres, but linen takes much longer to become dry and brittle than hemp does.

Linen Tape

We will be using a tape made from woven linen threads to attach our signatures to our covers. This tape will stay flexible for a very long time without breaking, unlike masking tape or scotch tape. Plastic and paper dry out and become brittle much faster than linen.

Glue Dots

Glue dots are adhesive strips that require no drying time and are permanent if properly applied. They come on a roll of clear plastic that allows you to place them exactly where you want them before peeling off the plastic and finishing your application with the other piece. They use pressure to set, so make sure you press firmly!

Lesson Sequence Overview

In the first class, the students will learn about wabi-sabi with the help of a PowerPoint presentation. Each student will receive one 9"x18"

piece and one 3.5"x4"piece of TerraSkin paper. Using a paintbrush, the students will apply water to the smaller TerraSkin sheets and then add small amounts of ink to create cloudy areas of colour. After they have considered the interplay of water and ink with these smaller pieces, the students will complete a larger ink painting on the full- sized TerraSkin that will later be used to make the covers of their sketchbooks.

In the second class, the students will be introduced to single-signature book-binding. They will bring in any paper types they would like to use, and will receive an additional pre-sorted pack of different paper types to supplement what they bring in. Students will bind books that will later be used to record their experiments with various paper types. Students will reflect on these explorations, and choose one paper type and medium to work on for their final artwork.

In the third class students will come prepared with sketches of their media research. Time will be allowed for them to work on their final pieces, which will be presented at the next class.

In the fourth class, students will present their final artworks, and will identify how their research impacted their creative process. Students will explain the connections between their final pieces and the stimulus for creation.

Adaptations for Diverse Learners

Students who work quickly

These students will be encouraged to spend more time in reflection before beginning a task in an effort to ensure students spend sufficient time reflecting on their creative choices. Upon finishing a step early, rather than attempting to guess the next step, students will be encouraged to “be neighbourly” by looking to their left and right to see if their neighbours are struggling and could use their help.

Students who require more time or are frequently absent

These students may be unable to finish the project in regular class time. Lunchtime or spare period support will be offered as work time for students who have missed a day or require more time to finish. Students who have missed the first PowerPoint presentation will be given the file.

Students with emotional anxiety

The seating groups have been arranged in such a way that the most timid and/or anxious children have been seated with the least aggressive children. Students with anxiety will be frequently reassured and given extra emotional support, and peer assistance is greatly encouraged. Students who are less comfortable taking artistic risks will be reminded that they will get to choose which sketches are evaluated at the end, so they need not fear losing marks for an unsuccessful artistic risk.

Students with behavioral difficulties

These students will have seats assigned closer to the front of the classroom and away from as many distractions as possible. Structure will be more closely enforced than with other students. Art Educator will frequently check on progress and gently remind the students of the next step.

Assessment

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