Printmaking is all about transferring an image from one surface to another. You can produce multiples of images and the methods by which you can do this are numerous. There are plenty of simple printing and stamping techniques to explore and more dexterous members of a group may like to develop this into more complicated techniques such as lino cutting.

ACTIVITY: PRINTING A FOREST

Relief printing is easy, fun and quick. Explore a subject like trees for example and draw your favourite trees as a warm-up exercise. Research tree shapes and discuss your favourites in a group. Use a ballpoint pen to draw your tree shapes onto the surface of the press print foam sheet. Put a small amount of ink onto a plexiglass sheet or tray. Use the roller - up and down and side to side to spread out the ink. When you have a nice smooth layer covering the roller, apply this to the foam sheet. Now place a sheet of paper over the top and, using the back of a spoon or your hand, press evenly over the surface. Remove the paper and you have your first print! Use the roller again to re-ink the foam sheet and make as many prints as you like.

MATERIALS

• Water-soluble block printmaking inks
• Press print foam sheets (A5/A4)
• Ballpoint pens
• Paper
• Small print rollers/brayer
• Plexiglass sheets or flat trays
• Large spoon

TIPS

Sometimes local building material suppliers will have offcuts of acrylic sheets that they may give you for free. Use these for rolling out your inks. Polystyrene food trays can also be cut up and used in place of the press print foam sheets. You can also use acrylic paints mixed with liquid soap instead of printmaking inks but the results are not as good. Find more printing activities at: paintingsinhospitals.org.uk/activities.

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