Printing is one of my all time favourite activities, especially where children are concerned. I will never forget one particular hand-printing session and a little girl who had virtually reached her shoulder with the paint brush before anyone noticed.
I learnt a lot from that child. First of all, make sure that you are near a source of soap and water whenever you do hand prints; set up your printing activity in a place where the odd stray splodge of paint does not matter too much (the garden is good); and, most important, be flexible over what the children use to create a print. We couldn't possibly waste all that paint and the resulting arm prints added great originality to that five-year-old's work!
WHAT YOU NEED
Contrary to what many people think, you do not need any specialist materials for printing. The three main resources are paint, paper and printing objects. Paint and paper you will already have, and printing objects can consist of everyday items easily collected from the home or out-of-school club environment. There are, however, one or two points that will help to make the activity run more smoothly:
Paint: although you can use whatever paint you have in your setting, it needs to be fairly thick. Mix up powder paint to quite a rich consistency or use ready-mixed liquid paint undiluted. Paint can be applied to the printing object using either a paint brush or a printing pad. You can make a printing pad by cutting out a circle of sponge, moistening it, placing it in a saucer and brushing in a large blob of paint. The printing object can then be pressed on to the paint-soaked pad.A printing pad is not essential, but it will give you better results with some objects.Paper: sugar paper is the easiest to work with as the slightly absorbent surface holds the painted object. Paper with a glossier surface can be slippery and needs a firm hand - save this for older children.Printing objects: you can use all kinds of everyday objects to print with (see right). A pattern, such as the veins in a leaf, or an interesting shape such as a slice of broccoli (see page 4 to grow your own!) will give good results, but younger children will enjoy using something as simple as a chunk of carrot.
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PRINTING
As with all art and craft activities, younger children tend to enjoy the activity for its own sake, whereas older ones will be looking for a 'good'
end result. Printing is not an exact science and you never quite know how your print is going to turn out. If you do come across the occasional child frustrated by a less than clear image, take a discreet look at their technique to see if they can be steered towards gaining more control over their printing. The following three keys to successful printing are useful to have up your sleeve, either to demonstrate to the children before they start, or for 'troubleshooting' if the print is not turning out as the child wants:
* Manipulating an object that is slippery with paint can be difficult, particularly if it was not very easy to hold in the first place - a paper clip, for example. You can usually get round this by gluing tiny items to a block of wood (see right). With younger children, offer items that are easy to hold, such as a cotton reel.
* Make sure that the object is covered with the right amount of paint. Any part of the surface that does not have enough paint will obviously not leave a print, while too much paint simply blobs. One way around the latter problem is to start off with a rough print, to mop up the excess paint.
Using a paint brush for some objects and a printing pad for others will help the child to apply the paint evenly.
* Hold the object still on the paper. Older children usually get the hang of this straight away whereas younger ones may try and 'paint' with their object (which is fine if that's what they're happy doing). You may want to steer some children away from 'stamping' with their object - a firm but slow movement is usually more successful. When the object is lifted off the paper, show the children how to hold the paper down with the flat of the hand, otherwise the paper tends to lift up along with the object.
OBJECTS AND TECHNIQUES
There are numerous possibilities when it comes to printing objects and techniques. The following are just a selection of those that have worked for me. Try your own ideas and encourage the children to collect a range of different items to experiment with.
* Simple printing with fruit and veg: for younger children in particular, go for easy-to-hold items. These can include broccoli florets, potato halves and half a lemon left to dry out slightly. Cut a handle into the potato by slicing a wedge from each side of the dome. Make potato cuts by cutting a shape into the flat surface and then slicing across at each side, leaving the raised shape intact. The paint pad usually works best for these objects, or try dipping directly into a saucer of paint.
* Body parts: hands, feet and fingers can all be used for printing. An ink-pad is good for fingers, although some parents may not be very happy about having to remove the ink. The side of the fist also makes an interesting print; this was the inspiration for the traditional Paisley pattern, as you will see as soon as you try it. For those children who dislike getting their hands and feet covered with paint, wellie prints make a good alternative. A paint brush is the best way of applying paint to the body and all ages can try different coloured stripes and blobs on hands or feet.
* Tiny objects: small items such as hair grips, paper clips and coins make good prints, but they can be almost impossible to handle when covered with paint. You can get round this by using a wooden block - saw a beam of wood into chunks, sand the edges to avoid splinters and stick on the object with PVA glue. The blocks can be washed and re-used, although you may need to re-stick the items as PVA glue is water soluble.
* Printing blocks: spread PVA glue across the surface of a wooden block.
Cut shapes from card and stick them on to the block or apply string in different patterns. When the string or card is finished with, it can be peeled off and the block scrubbed for re-using. You can prepare blocks for younger children while older ones will like to make their own.
* Polystyrene lino cuts: this technique is a simplified version of lino cut printing. Simply draw a pattern on to a polystyrene tile and then dig it out with a pencil or masonry nail. Check that the grooves are sufficiently wide and deep, paint over the tile with a paint brush and then print, pressing down on all parts. If the tile is big, you can roll over it with a rolling pin, to ensure that all parts are pressed down.
USING PRINTS
Printing can be used in all sorts of ways to create pictures, patterns and gifts:
* Transform body part prints into fish, trees, insects, monsters or wherever the fancy takes you. Older children enjoy the humorous element of displaying body part prints; if you can put up displays in your setting, cut out footprints and stick them up the wall and across the ceiling. Amuse the cleaners by attaching fingerprints to the mirror in the bathroom and handprints across the windows.
* Make wrapping paper by ruling a pencil grid on large sheets and then printing motifs in the squares. Older children can experiment with printing on to tissue paper.
* String blocks, potato cuts and polystyrene lino prints make great cards, calendars and labels. Use motifs to decorate sets of writing paper and envelopes and tie up into bundles with a ribbon.
* Use fabric paints to print on to hankies or plain white T-shirts. Sew on buttons and sequins for a truly personalised, multi-media item of clothing.
Hilary White has a background in teaching and has run arts and crafts workshops.
