Do you know anything about Printmaking? My bet is, you don't know much. 

When you hear the word print, what is your first thing that comes to mind? Probably a framable print from your favorite artist, or a photo print, or maybe even the ‘print’ button on your copier, right? Most adults know from experience that a ‘print’ is something that is not an original, it is a copy of the original work that has been replicated or reproduced. In which case, you are correct in your terminology. However, printmaking in art, probably still eludes your knowledge of artwork creation.

The history of printmaking starts sometime in the year 200 B.C. during the Han dynasty in China. The first printing plates were created from cutting wood, and the first printing was done on textile, and more specifically silk. Because paper wasn’t something readily available until much later, it wasn’t until the seventh century that the first paper print was created. Advances in the art form itself were not made again until paper was a mass produced material in the 1400-1500s.  Now, there are five major categories: Lithography, Screen printing, intaglio, relief printing, and mono-typing. 

Our kid's classes did an entire Printmaking unit in the spring and by show of hands, it was the most loved of our entire school year. Every class demonstration led to Ooooh’s and Aaaaah’s after I would pull a print off of my demonstration plate. 

The interesting thing about printmaking is that you can recreate your original work unlimited times, or create work just a few times to make them ‘limited edition,’ or just one time, depending on the type of printmaking process you use. Essentially, you have control over the way your work is reproduced.

If you are an adult that is interested in Printmaking, please reach out! I would love to chat with you and introduce you to the work of printing.  

Later in August we will have another week of Printmaking classes for our Youth and Teen students, find them here >>> Youth Ages 5-12 - Teen Ages 13-17