Print Making

Today in art class we were taught print making.  We were each given a rectangle shaped piece of styrofoam and then etched a design into it.  We had to fill up 3/4 of our styrofoam piece with designs.  We could use shapes or words.  I then chose to use yellow ink on brown paper.  We used a roller to put a thin layer of paint on the styrofoam and then pressed it onto my brown paper.  I kept doing this process until I had three prints that I liked.  Finally, we cut out the three prints.  We had to turn these three prints into a train.  I put coal in my train cars and used crayons to color a South Dakota country background.

An extension activity could be having students do the same thing with the styrofoam piece (etching a design into it).  Instead of using the rectangular prints to make a train, let students use their imaginations and put them into any scene they want.  They must also right a short story that goes along with their finished project.