Investigating Andy Warhol and screen printing...

CSI: ART ROOM  INVESTIGATION

SUSPECT:  ANDY WARHOL

CRIME: USING POPULAR IMAGES IN A REPEATED PROCESS TO ACHIEVE FAME...HE ALSO HAD MANY CATS AND A BIG 'SILVER FACTORY".  ANDY USED THE SCREEN PRINTING PROCESS TO CREATE MANY MANY ART WORKS IN A QUICK WAY.

CASE: FIGURE OUT HOW HE DID IT

A couple of  years ago, I was stumped by how to expose my students to the process of screen printing.  I had bought larger screens, all the supplies and then thought to myself, "Well, how in the world are all 4th graders (80-ish of them) going create their own unique screens?"  And then I looked at my bedroom wall at home, where in which I one of my installations comprised of embroidery hoops.  Then it came to me.....simple, feasible and student friendly.  

This process can be used for just about anything!  Along with making amazing artworks, the process itself lends to a community atmosphere, similar to what Warhol achieved in his Factory.  Much like most of my art units, the students really have an incredible amount of independence and run of the art room.  I KNOW sounds scary but it works.  

I presented  this process to a room of art teachers at the Illinois Arts Education Association conference in 2011 and it was a great hit!  They were really excited about how easy the process was and the flexibility of what you can do.

 

 Materials:

embroidery hoops

silk screen material 

(really sheer fabric works too)

Mod Podge

small brushes

1" inch flat brushes

felt 

acrylic paint/screen printing ink

What to do:

cut fabric about an inch larger than hoop

pull thru until taut like a drum

trace or draw your image with hoop flat

***flip hoop so the fabric does not touch the table

brush/paint on Mod Podge -2 layers

***seal all the little holes!

 let dry for 24 hours

 

Screen Printing:

a little paint goes a long way....

place paper on felt

***the felt provides the cushion needed when screen printing 

Flip hoop to be flat on the paper

push down with one hand

use flat brush to 'push' paint 

***students need to stand for better control    

 

Taaaadaaah! screen printing!

***students rinse and pat their screens dry before changing colors

HIGHLIGHT:  my students were so excited of how successful they were...I heard a few times, "I'm awesome at this", "This is cool!" 

As an art teacher, I tend to think less about what students need to do and more about what they need to think.   The entire "Investigation" began with color theory and understanding how colors interact with one another.  After our practice prints, we took a step back to review the color wheel, color intensities and complimentary colors. We explored different materials and how they interact together, showing different results.  We used oil pastels, watercolor paint and acrylic paint in a layer process.
We worked on two different types of paper to challenge them and their learning, exploring different color combinations.  The results were amazing! More importantly, the students were really proud of their work. 

Now the only thing left is to choose which is better????  and why ;-)

see you back in the

SMocKroom!

xoxo, SMocK you.