The exploration of print making presents a wonderful opportunity to learn about texture. In our class we created prints of various stencil sets in order to create balance and texture in a piece.
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| My final product. |
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| Our 'critique'. |
I focused on the element of texture and the principle of balance. As a class, we chose to explore the element of texture in a literal sense by rubbing crayon on paper that was on top of various textures. This created a wonderful bridge between tangible textures and artistic texture. In addition, we were trying to create some sort of balance in our work. Mine was asymmetrical balance since it’s less on one half of the paper - it looks almost like something expanding towards the right.
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| Sample of materials used. |
We used printer paper, crayons, and stencils to start and eventually moved to multiple textured surfaces around the room. This activity would be most suitable for grades 4-6 since it doesn’t require a high degree of fine motor skills, uses safe materials (i.e. low risk involved), and is explorative in nature rather than product-driven. It could also be a nice mind’s on for older grades before diving deeper into artistic texture.
A really interesting cross-curricular connection we discussed was with social studies and
gravestone rubbing. Gravestones have wonderful textures, and if you have a historically significant cemetery in the area, students can investigate the names they find. For example, in Halifax they have the Titanic cemeteries, military cemeteries, and cemeteries where victims of the Halifax Explosion are buried. This activity also presents a wonderful opportunity to go outside, and could incorporate environmental education as part of the excursion.
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