Sunprint Drawing Transfer

Students and families were amazed at the striking results from this multi-step process! Several parents asked for details.

The first part of our project was to draw in reverse using a Sgraffito technique, also known as scratch art, on a clear sheet of plastic coated with ink. This can be purchased prepared for you, or you can make your own with waterproof ink. (A variation is to draw or paint with ink on a clear sheet.)

The scratch tools must be sharp enough to draw easily, or it's not much fun! Before class, I whittled dowel rods down to a point, and students used sand paper to maintain the point while working. (Of course, we always remember our safety rules with these sharp tools.)

Next, we were ready to transfer our drawings to sunprint paper. The clear sheet with the ink drawing was laid directly over the photo-sensitive paper and exposed to direct sunlight. All clear areas where the ink had been scraped away allowed light to reach the sunprint paper, creating a polarized, or reverse, image.

Also called nature print paper or cyanotype paper, sunprint paper can be found at many art, craft, and science suppliers. The paper is coated with a non-toxic chemical that turns a brilliant blue color after being exposed to sunlight, rinsed in plain water, and air-dried.

Final art work can be treated like watercolor paintings, that is, keep dry and protect from gradual fading caused by direct sunlight over time.

Art and Design at Family Learning Program

This spring session of Family Learning Program I've been fortunate to lead three art and design classes serving a whole range of different ages, styles and interests! As summer approaches with a finish to these energy-charged classes, I want to share some highlights from our learning experiences.

Interactive social games remind kids of the basics while strengthening classroom relationships.

Then, we're ready to get serious with some advanced painting studies. Many students would stop nowhere short of the "fancy" color wheel this session. I was continually amazed at their level of focus and dedication.

Even my youngest artists, with support from their parents, were fascinated to study the behavior of paint under various conditions.

 

I've noticed amazing collaborative exchanges among these artist teams.

 

Whether studying watercolor techniques, printmaking methods, or mixed media construction, we agreed that creativity is something important to ourselves, our families and our community. 

 

Mixed media experiments with the older kids included ink drawings on a clear sheet to create sun-print images.

Many of the kids enjoyed drawing and then painting over their drawings. 

 

This basic illustration technique is incredibly versatile.

When classroom dynamics got a little complicated, I brainstormed up a set of worksheets to give students an additional way to interact with complex drawing instructions. It was difficult to put aside fears that worksheets might stifle their creativity, but I forged ahead while encouraging students to honor their own unique ways to draw.

I was relieved and overjoyed to find that the results were as wildly varied as the kids are!

A Place for Ideas to Grow

A sketchbook is a perfect place to capture sparks of inspiration. The low risk atmosphere lets your imagination play freely, allowing ideas to emerge while your inner critic is lulled into a sense of security.

Later on, during that unavoidable, ever-terrifying part of your creative cycle, when you temporarily believe that you will never have any ideas, ever, pick up one of your sketchbooks and read it like the book of designs that it is.

Follow it like a direction manual and map back to your creative zone.

Your "sketchbook" could also be any sort of notebook, or could even translate to any of the infinite iterations of data capture introduced by contemporary digital media, so long as your creative self feels protected when you engage there.

How do you keep and use your sketchbook?