This week’s input focused on learning through the process of print. Prior to the input, I decided to research print making in further detail to enhance my knowledge and understanding ahead of the session. I was able to find that print making is “the form and process of applying a work of art to another surface” (Science Leadership, 2017). I was intrigued to discover the various materials that can be used to create your print, ranging from paper, fabric, plastic, polystyrene and card. It is important to remember that in print making, there is more than one version of it’s original made. Reflecting on our ‘Integrated Arts’ module I remember creating our own prints based on the painting ‘Windows in the West’ (1993) by Avril Paton. And from this, I recall using a variety of materials and there being various steps before we had our finished product. I was interested to discover the affect print making had on various artists, it was suggested that print making was revolutionary because it was another way to be creative through art. Through this research, I found that the roots of print making ran far back and since then has collectively grown with more types of printing. This type of art had also made it possible to capture moments of history from centuries ago (Science Leadership, 2017).
Whilst researching, I discovered a lino print of a portrait of a woman by Nancy Bradley. This piece of art really interested and captivated me as I noticed, very quickly, the unique facial expression that the artist managed to capture in the woman’s face. I detected that the expression was one of a bold manner, as if the woman is of a high prestige to others or it could be that she is looking down on others. My interpretation of the woman is that she is strong minded, independent and high achieving. Whilst looking at the piece of art, various thoughts ran through my head such as: I wonder what the woman was thinking in the picture, why did the artist decided to create a woman of this manner, what was the artist thinking when they decided to create the facial expression on the woman’s face. I enjoyed and appreciated the fact that the colors were kept simple, with just black and white, as the value of colors helped me to see where the light was captured on the woman’s face. I think the colors that were used provided a sense of mystery with the painting and provided a good design for the painting. .
I felt that with my prior research and experience with print making, I had an adequate amount of knowledge, understanding and skills ahead of this session. During the session, we were all given the opportunity to further develop our knowledge and understanding of printmaking through reading a document by Yorkshire Sculpture Park called ‘Exploring Printmaking’. provides teachers with input on how to use printmaking in the classroom. This document outlines the purposes of printmaking, how it can be used for cross curricular lesson and gives examples of the practical elements of printmaking like how to set up a classroom and keep it tidy. Through reading this document it highlighted to me the significant opportunities that print making can give children, of all ages, as they are able to experiment and explore visual art.
As a student teacher, it is a brilliant opportunity to be introduced to various resources that will help us along our journey of becoming a future educator. A resource like ‘Exploring Printmaking’ allows me to develop my knowledge and understanding of this concept and in turn increase my own confidence and self-esteem in teaching printmaking and using it within the curriculum guidelines. I appreciate the various skills that print making provides for a child such as encouraging them to problem solve, have creative discussions and work effectively with others.
During today’s session we also had the opportunity to begin our artwork for our evocative object. Our evocative objects were to inspire us to create our own concrete poetry. Concrete poetry “creatively operates with space as an additional expressive category by arranging words in non-linear patterns across the page.” (Poetry beyond text, 2018). Therefore, this session gave us the time and assistance to begin our concrete poetry and we were to use this time to express our thoughts and feelings through design. At the start of this session, I didn’t know where to begin or how I wanted to express my evocative object and the feelings attached to it on a piece of paper. As my evocative object was my ‘You Matter Always’ (YMA) card I decided to begin with drawing the YMA symbol. The YMA symbol holds a special place in my heart as I have the symbol tattooed on my ankle to signify the strength of my mum and how she has suffered trauma throughout her life and still has the strength to continue in her life. It also reminds me that I matter always, that my thoughts, feelings and emotions are of value and I should never forget that.
When creating my symbol, I found it very difficult to get the size and scale of the symbol correct. I decided to stick with the same color scheme that my mum went with, I love the colour purple as it signifies ambition, strength, power, peace and independence. It reminds me to continue making goals throughout my life, to be independent and to be strong and not let my worries get me down or stop me from achieving my goals. I began my creation, using oil pastels however I quickly realised that oil pastels can be difficult when trying to merge two colors together. As the symbols colours range from light to dark purple and then some white, to reflect the dark and light within the symbol I wanted to convey this in my drawing. On reflection, it was clear that the oil pastels did not work and therefore I decided to draw the symbol again and this time use chalk. I decided to use chalk as I wanted to feel the colours blend and form together.
Looking at the start of my creative poetry I am not entirely pleased with it and therefore I want to reflect this week on what it is I don’t like about my creation so far and what it is I would like to change. I want to ensure that I make my creative poetry meaningful and convey the message of ‘You Matter Always’ therefore it is vital that I get this correct before this module finishes.
On reflection I feel that this session was of great value. It allowed me to develop my knowledge, understanding and skills of print making. It also gave me the opportunity to use my thoughts and emotions related to my evocative object and express them through visual art which is something I feel should be encouraged in the classroom. When considering using printmaking within the classroom, two things came to my mind and that is that in order to make something more engaging, the work should be more personal or have a connection to something else, a real life connection or purpose. Printmaking can fit into both of these options therefore furthering the chances that I will use it for a future lesson.
References:
Bourn Creative, (2011). Color Meaning: Meaning of the Color Purple. [Online] Available: https://www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-purple/ [Accessed: 28th January 2018]
Science Leadership Academy, (2017). Printmaking. [Online] Available: https://scienceleadership.org/blog/printmaking-11 [Accessed: 28th January 2018]
Art Grab, (2016). This is Nancy Brandley’s lino print portrait of a woman. [Online] Available: http://art-grab.tumblr.com/post/140696690555/this-is-nancy-brandleys-lino-print-portrait-of-a [Accessed: 28th January 2018]
Poetry Beyond Text. (2018) Concrete Poetry. [Online] Available: http://www.poetrybeyondtext.org/concrete-poetry.html [Accessed: 28th January 2018]
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, (n.d.) Exploring Printmaking. [Online] Available: file:///C:/Users/Suzanne/Downloads/ignite-teacher-resource-printmaking%20(1).pdf [Accessed 28th January 2018]
