Illustrating nursery rhymes.

Illustrating nursery rhymes. Printmaking printmakingArt form consisting of the production of images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, parchment, plastic, or other support, by various techniques of multiplication, under the direct supervision of or by the hand of the artist. has been around for a long time. The Chinese were someof the first people to make prints. In 1438, when the printing press wasinvented, block prints were used to make book illustrations. Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) was a German who did intricate woodcuts.He did a series of 15 prints illustrating scenes from the Bible. As aclass, we looked at slides of a few of these. I wanted my students tosee that printmaking could be used in various ways, so we also looked atprints that had been used to design wrapping paper Noun 1. wrapping paper - a tough paper used for wrappingkraft, kraft paper - strong wrapping paper made from pulp processed with a sulfur solutionbutcher paper - a strong wrapping paper that resists penetration by blood or meat fluids and note cards. My students had previously made a stamped print where they carvedan eraser, inked it and printed it repeatedly. For this current unit ofstudy I challenged them to illustrate a nursery rhyme nursery rhymeVerse customarily told or sung to small children. Though the oral tradition of nursery rhymes is ancient, the largest number date from the 16th, 17th, and (most frequently) 18th centuries. using the samerelief printing, but this time we would use linoleum linoleum(lĭnō`lēəm), resilient floor or wall covering made of burlap, canvas, or felt, surfaced with a composition of wood flour, oxidized linseed oil, gums or other ingredients, and coloring matter. instead of erasers. First, each student was to decide which nursery rhyme he or shewanted to illustrate. It was my hope that each student would do adifferent nursery rhyme, but a few students chose the same rhymes. Thisproved to be interesting, to see how they interpreted the rhymedifferently. The students drew their illustrations on 6" x 6" whitepaper. When they were done, they were asked to shade in the parts theywanted to receive the ink and print (the positive areas, which wouldstand up off the linoleum when carved), and leave white the areas theywould cut out and would not receive ink (the areas that would be cutaway and be negative). Students were reminded to draw letters or numbersin reverse so they would read correctly when the print was pulled. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] With the positive/negative areas marked, the students were ready totransfer the drawing to the linoleum's surface. The students turnedthe drawing over and blackened black��en?v. black��ened, black��en��ing, black��ensv.tr.1. To make black.2. To sully or defame: a scandal that blackened the mayor's name.3. the back of the drawing with theirgraphite pencils. The drawing was then taped face up to thelinoleum's surface, and the line drawing was traced with a pen,transferring the drawing to the linoleum's surface. The drawing was lifted from the linoleum and laid next to it to useas a reference for cutting. The students used gouges to cut awayanything that was left white on the original drawing. I reminded thestudents repeatedly to cut away from themselves for safety reasons. When the linoleum was satisfactorily cut, the students were readyto print. Block printer's ink was squeezed on a Plexiglas[R] plateand spread evenly with a brayer. The inked brayer was used to transferthe ink to the cut linoleum's surface. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] With the linoleum inked, a piece of paper was laid on the inkedsurface and rubbed with a baren or wooden spoon. The print was pulled and examined to see if it was of satisfactoryquality. The students were required to make five prints with at least one ofthem being printed with black ink. The students were free to experimentwith colored ink variations, too. When all of the prints were dry, each student selected one printand at the computer, typed the nursery rhyme he/she had illustrated. Thenursery rhyme was printed and placed with the linoleum print serving asthe illustration. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We compiled a book of our illustrated nursery rhymes nursery rhymes,verses, generally brief and usually anonymous, for children. The best-known examples are in English and date mostly from the 17th cent. A popular type of rhyme is used in "counting-out" games, e.g., "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo. , complete withcover and lamination laminationa laminar structure or arrangement. . The book now sits proudly in our school library. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Middle-school students will ... * recognize the positive/negative areas and how they complement thedesign. * be able to define relief printing. * experiment with the possibilities of relief printing to expresstheir ideas. * utilize the materials, tools, techniques and terms of blockprinting. * recognize how block printing has been and can still be used whenillustrating books. * display pleasure in creating their linoleum prints and theresulting book. * solve a design problem presented to them. MATERIALS * 6" x 6" white paper * Graphite pencils * Pens * Plexiglas[R] plates * Linoleum * Gouges * Block printer's ink * Barens or wooden spoons * Brayers Karen Skophammer teaches art for the Manson Northwest WebsterSchools in Barnum and Manson, Iowa Manson is a city in Calhoun County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,893 at the 2000 census. GeographyManson is located at (42.530690, -94.534673)GR1. .