Printmaking: Not Just for Paper!

By Division I Media & Journalism reporter Esmé

For the third and final trimester of the school year, some Division I students have the opportunity to take printmaking. One of the projects they did was creating clay stamps. First, they generated designs to put on the stamps, and then they carved them onto clay blocks. Following this, they used these stamps to create custom-stamped cookies and pasta.

Next, they worked to create designs carved on soft cut linoleum, which is a rubbery surface that is soft and easy to manipulate. The designs are interlocking patterns, which means they can be continued because the edges are the same on both sides. They are using these to print rectangles consisting of the designs they created repeated six times.

Art teacher Emily, who led the class, explained, “I enjoy teaching this class because students are so enthusiastic at each step of the process and it makes me just want to keep going.” When I asked 6th grader Zayna about her experience, her comments reflected this enthusiasm: “Printmaking is interesting, fun, and relaxing. At the same time, the finished product is beautiful.”