Poster Design

I did it… I decided to take a leap and delve into the field of design. We began our unit with mini lessons on typefaces and layout. With limitations of technology, we used old magazines to identify differences in type and find different layouts of type and image used in advertising.

The project paired students in groups to work in a real life design situation… designing posters for the upcoming middle school play, a radio theatre broadcast. The students brainstormed and came up with idea sketches which were discussed with me before they took their ideas to realization. I was impressed on how well everyone worked together, as I have never attempted group art projects before- and equally proud with the finished designs.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Printmakers Strike Again!

I finally have finished products from our printmaking unit. This is the second time I have done these projects and the results are even better (see last semester’s prints here and here)! I think it is time for new artists, I feel I have exhausted Keith Haring! This group is a bit bigger than my last class, so it took some organization to make our way through everything.

I love gelli printing. I love watching the kids explore the endless possibilities of texture and colour to create unique one of a kind prints. I especially love when the paintbrushes come out- when the real experimenting begins and unexpected surprises happen! These printing sessions were going on at the same time we were working on our artist pages. The inspiration for our prints was a variety of tools, similarly to Jim Dine. We discussed how we could add emphasis to create focal point(s) in each print- whether this be through line, colour, value, space, or texture.

Project #1 Monotype Prints with Emphasis

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Project #2 Keith Haring Reduction Prints

Teaching reduction printing this time, I was a bit more prepared. I now have a step by step poster to help explain the layering process. Also, in an attempt to up the quality of finished prints, I created registration jigs to help keep paper borders even while printing.

Each student created a unique design which incorporated elements of Keith Haring’s work. Using a styrofoam block, they printed an edition of 3 prints plus at least 2 additional colour variations.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.