monoprint

Hello everyone!

Today we have 2 projects to explore, one that can be used over and over again and one that is unique and one of a kind.

Finger painting is a great activity for kids of all ages and adults too. It provides a wonderful sensory experience and promotes fine motor skills while providing a relaxing, creative activity. It’s not as popular as other art projects unfortunately because it is most definitely super messy. But what if I told you, you could finger paint without turning your hands (and maybe your furniture) into a paint palette? ?

Well you can, with some simple supplies!

No Mess Finger Painting

Supplies –

Plastic baggie (preferably Ziploc although you can tape the top of the baggie to prevent any paint squeezing out).
Paint – acrylic, tempera, washable paint is best. If you have no paint, you can mix up some instant pudding or use one of the recipes listed in the links below to make your own “paint”.
Your hands!
Optional – Q-Tips, end of paintbrush handle or pencil

Steps –

Pour paint into the plastic baggie. If the paint is too thick, mix it with a splash of water before you pour it into the baggie. Paint should not be too thin.
Carefully squeeze out all excess air before sealing bag. Add tape to the top to prevent any leaking.
Once your baggie is ready, you can use your fingers, Q -Tips, or the rounded end of the paintbrush handle or pencil eraser end to create designs.

clean fingerpainting baggie — This activity is great for learning about color mixing.

It’s fun to “paint” by removing, or “erasing” pigment instead of adding pigment, by moving the paint around and creating designs. This activity is also a wonderful way to explore elements of art such as color (primary and secondary colors) and negative space (the space around and between the subject of an image).

It’s super relaxing and fun to watch the colors mix and spread. Plus you can “erase” designs by gently rubbing and moving the paint around. You get a new canvas to create!

Our second project today is a MONOPRINT, a form of printmaking where the design or drawing can only be made once.

Supplies –

Cookie sheet or aluminum tray. I used a pizza tray today in my video, but I usually use disposable aluminum trays in my workshops. As long as your paint is non-toxic and water soluble you can always clean the tray after using.
Paint or a homemade substitute (see link below)
Mark making materials like Q-Tips, combs, fingers, plastic utensils etc.
Paint spreader – you can use a brush, stiff cardboard, paint roller or a brayer (if you have one!)
Paper

Steps –

Spread paint evenly onto the tray with your paint spreader. The paint should be opaque and smooth, a nice thin layer is best.
Use your mark making tools to create a design. Try to work quickly since the paint may begin to dry and that would prevent getting a good print.
Your design will be reversed, so remember that if you are using words.
Once your design is ready, place the paper on top and gently burnish (rub) the surface of the paper to transfer the design from the tray to the paper.
Pull the print – as you’ve seen in our previous videos, gently lift off the paper, starting at the top from the tray.

finished monoprint — Our finished Monoprint. The image will be reversed, so be mindful if you are using words.

As you can see above, some of my paint had started to dry so I ended up with a slightly uneven print. Sort of looks like a woodcut! This can also be called a reverse print because the design is made by the lines where there is no paint.

Here are some links to learn more about the elements of art and ways to make your own paint.

Favorite Homemade Paint Recipes

Elements of Art for grades 6-12

Free printable Elements of Art book for grades PK – 5

Be sure to visit, like and follow us on FB and Instagram for weekly project videos and read aloud story time for all ages. Contact Patty at eljaiekart@gmail.com to learn more about our professional development workshops, now available via Zoom and/or Google Hangouts.

Thanks for visiting and keep creating!

Patty

Printing is a great technique to explore with young children. There are so many different ways to create prints and the opportunity for many “happy accidents”. We started our printing unit with a simple monoprint. A monoprint is a print that can only be made once, as opposed to most other printing techniques which allow for multiples.little ones.

As always, we chose re purposed materials in the form of a plastic serving tray and white scrap paper. Using tempera paint, we spread a thin application of blue paint directly on the serving tray. This can be done with a brush or a brayer, we used a 2″ foam brush. make sure there is enough paint to cover the size paper you are using and the application is thick enough to make marks in, but not too thick that you will lose the image. You may want to practice this before you start the project with your little ones.

To make their design, I supplied the kiddos with Q-tips, which they used to “draw” their image in the paint. It’s interesting when they realize they are “drawing” by removing paint instead of adding it. Once their image is created, we place the paper on top of the image and very gently, this was the hardest part, burnish or smooth down the paper to lift the image onto the paper. We just used our hands instead of a brayer or other tool because I wanted to make sure the entire image was transferred and make it more of a tactile experience as well. Don’t press too hard and don’t move the paper. You can see the image faintly once there is enough paint transferred onto the paper. At this point, life the paper gently and slowly from one end and voila! A lovely print of their original drawing.

One thing to keep in mind, it will be a reverse image so keep it simple and stay away from words or letters. The lovely examples below are all from my Kindergarten class.

The look of wonder on their faces when they see their print is priceless 🙂