Process Art Sketchbook Prompt The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood

I was thinking last Wednesday how grateful I am to be teaching art again to preschoolers. Like, I should be paying my boss for how much good comes out of teaching so much fun process art to all the kiddos at my school (joking, but still!). I leave feeling so inspired and rejuvenated and ALWAYS full of new ideas. It’s a privilege and an honor to teach these preschoolers new concepts and skills but it’s amazing what they teach and show me too!

Now posted – Preschool Process Art Printmaking and Collagraphs

I have the above really fun wood block printing project to show you hopefully next week (inspired by Small Hands Big Art collograph print project). My preschoolers ROCKED this – I wish you could’ve been a fly on the wall- they were so engaged during this art process. But for now here is another really fun printing process art idea to try in SKETCHBOOKS (my obsession) and a project I think you need to do ASAP with your kids. The last process art sketchbook idea I shared was fun for so many of you so I know you’ll love this prompt as well. It’s endlessly fun and pretty open ended- you could take this so many different directions.

Process art styrofoam printmaking with preschool.

Process Art Repeat Printing

Materials:

Acrylic paint (or high quality tempera if you need it to be washable) – we’ve been loving the Hand Made Modern Acrylics because they’re bright and fun and really smooth. They also dry quickly!)

Paint brushes

Styrofoam tray (from a fruit, herb or meat package- if you don’t personally buy products packaged in styrofoam ask you friend and family or use a piece of tinfoil instead!)

Painters tape

Sketchbook Prompt:

What kind of painting can you create using layers of color?

Tape you styrofoam late to one side of your sketchbook spread (we taped it on the right facing page but it doesn’t matter). Using one color at a time, add paint to your plate. When you like your design, flip the left page onto the plate and press it all over with your hands. Open the page to see your first print layer! Keep adding paint to the plate and printing it over and over. The paint gets absorbed by the paper in between layers. I hope this makes sense but scroll through the pictures to see this process- the images show the steps better than my words!

I can’t wait to try this process a few different ways with my own kids and my preschool kids. We may try a tinfoil repeat printing version of this concept or come up with less abstract subject matter (my mind is wandering toward vintage travel poster design and the layers used so well there but we’ll see what I come up with, I sometimes even surprise myself ha!).