Creative learning activity
Printmaking Press
Stamp and print! Use everyday objects to make repeating prints with paint. Discover that you can use one shape to make many copies.
Materials and setup
- paint
- foam plates
- paper
- roller or brayer
- leaves
- sponges
- cardboard
- glue
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Stamp and print! Use everyday objects to make repeating prints with paint. Discover that you can use one shape to make many copies.
Steps
- SAFETY: adult cuts all fruit/vegetable stamps in advance — child never uses a knife. Use only non-toxic, washable, child-safe paint. Cover the work surface and dress for mess.
- Gather objects for stamping: sponges, bottle caps, cookie cutters, halved fruits (apple, potato) pre-cut by an adult.
- Dip each object in paint and press onto paper. Lift carefully to see the print!
- Make a pattern using stamps: repeat a shape across the page.
- Try combining 2-3 different stamps to create a picture or design.
- Count how many prints you made from one stamp. One stamp makes many copies!
Learning objectives
- Create prints using found objects as stamps
- Explore pattern creation through repeated printing
- Understand that printing creates multiple copies from one source
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Learn basic printmaking: create prints from carved foam, leaf prints, and monoprints. Explore how artists use printmaking to share art.
Steps
- Leaf printing: paint a leaf, press it on paper, and peel it off to see the detailed veins and shape.
- Foam printing: draw a design into a foam plate with a pencil (pressing hard). Roll paint on the foam, press onto paper.
- Monoprint: paint a design on a smooth surface (plastic sheet), lay paper on top, press, and peel.
- Print your favorite design 3 times. Notice how each print is slightly different!
- Display your prints and explain which technique you liked best and why.
Learning objectives
- Create prints using leaf, foam plate, and monoprint techniques
- Understand the concept of a printing plate and multiple impressions
- Compare prints made from the same source
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Study printmaking as an art form: relief printing, reduction printing, and registration. Create a multi-color print edition.
Steps
- Learn about relief printing: the raised parts print, the cut-away parts don't. Carve a design into a foam block or thick cardboard.
- Practice registration: mark your paper and block so each print lines up the same way.
- Create a 2-color print: print your first color, clean the block, add a second color, and print over the first (after it dries).
- Print an 'edition' of 5 identical prints. Number each one (1/5, 2/5, etc.) like real printmakers do.
- Research a famous printmaker (Hokusai, Albrecht Durer, or Andy Warhol). How did they use printmaking?
- Display your edition with a description of your process and inspiration.
Learning objectives
- Create relief prints using carving and inking techniques
- Produce multi-color prints with accurate registration
- Understand editioning and the printmaking tradition
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Master advanced printmaking: stencil/screen printing concepts, collagraph, and reduction printing. Study printmaking's role in art history and communication.
Steps
- Create a collagraph plate: glue textured materials (cardboard, fabric, string, leaves) onto a base, ink it, and print.
- Study screen printing concepts: create a simple stencil print using a mesh screen or pantyhose stretched over a frame.
- Learn reduction printing: carve a block, print one color, carve away more, print the next color. Each color reduces the block.
- Research printmaking in history: how did the printing press change the world? How did artists like Warhol use prints to comment on mass production?
- Create a series of 3 prints on a theme, using different printmaking techniques for each.
- Write an artist's statement about your printmaking series, discussing technique, theme, and artistic influences.
Learning objectives
- Create prints using collagraph, stencil, and reduction techniques
- Analyze printmaking's historical role in communication and art
- Develop a cohesive artistic series using varied printmaking methods
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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