Day Two – Print Demonstrations, Did I Do Good?

Day Two – Print Demonstrations, Paper Documentation, and Color Separation

Two days into my 15 day artist residency I find my hands dirty. Dirty from ink, sink water, and upside down demo plates. Today the students were shown the process of reductive relief cut.

The Process of reduction printing is a method used in relief printmaking. In relief prints, cuts are made into the flat surface of the block and ink is then rolled across the surface. Any area that is not cut away will pick up the ink, but the ink will not go down into the cut lines. When run through a press it transfers the ink to paper creating the print.

As art teachers we find ourselves creating lesson plans and presentations, trying to teach students new methods and ideas, but art sometimes is better shown than spoken.

Yesterday wasn't just filled with creating excitement and understanding, but words of, “ I can't do this” and “ You expect us to do what”?

But teaching for several years now, doesn't mean I don't fall flat. In demos today I found myself with an upside down print, printing on wet ink, and messy paper, while telling my students, “Don't do what I'm doing, this is just for demo purposes”. In art we make mistakes, and teaching isn't just about the project, it's about moving forward in our mistakes.

Hearing those students words as a teacher can be a blow to the creative spirt, but today through cutting, rolling, and printing student's brains began to understand the processes around printing plates.

”I can't do this”, turned into “I have this idea”.

Some ideas shared in public and others relieved in torn up notebooks, either or drawings have started. Ideas of ballet flamingos, laughing crying people, and dragons filled with checker boards.

What makes a good art teacher, but also what makes a good art student?