Printmaking Lesson
Title: Linocut and Woodcut Narratives
Artist: Bridget Danner
Materials/Prep: Pencil, pen, sketch paper, newsprint paper, printmaking paper, gouges, brayer, ink plate, ink knife, Speedball water-based block-printing ink (not for screenprinting), linoleum or wood block.
Introduction/Goals: Exploration of relief print media (linocut and woodcut) as a way to communicate formal aesthetics (line, shape, contrast), and personal narrative. Students will learn how carving away material creates negative space, how printed images reverse the drawing, and how printmaking has historically amplified voices around protest, identity, and community.
RCA State Standards: 7.VA:Cr1.2 – Develop criteria to guide making a work of art or design to meet an identified goal. 3.VA:Cr1.2 – Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the artmaking process.
Activity
Brainstorm and sketch: Students list a subject they care about and create several thumbnail drawings emphasizing strong contrast and simple shapes on sketch paper.
Final drawing and transfer: Students refine one drawing on sketch paper, then transfer or redraw it in reverse onto linoleum or wood block, noting which areas will print (raised) and which will remain paper (carved away).
Carving: Demonstrate safe gouge use (carving away from hands, securing the block). Students slowly carve out negative space, starting with broad shapes, then details, understanding that removed material cannot be replaced.
Texture: Demonstrate techniques that allow for interesting textures; crosshatching, linework, shadows, etc.
Inking: Show how to roll a small amount of ink on the ink plate utilizing an ink knife to soften it. Using the knife, scrape a small line across the ink plate, and roll the brayer repeatedly until it appears smooth and slightly tacky, then evenly roll ink across the raised surface of the block with the brayer.
Printing: Place the inked block on the table, carefully register and lay printmaking paper on top, then apply firm pressure with hands, a baren, or the back of a spoon before peeling the paper to reveal a print.
Proofs and edition: Students pull at least one test print, adjust carving or inking as needed, and then print a small edition (3–5 prints), signing and numbering them when dry.
Vocabulary: Linocut, woodcut, relief print, edition, registration
Closing: Prompt volunteers to show one print and briefly name the issue or feeling behind it and one formal choice that supports that idea (for example, bold outlines for strength, dense lines for anxiety).
Success: Combining presentation and technique with strong concepts, and aesthetics
Challenges: Meticulous time‑intensive process with many steps. Students must manage drying time, repeated inking, careful carving, planning ahead, working safely with tools, and accepting that prints may not match the first drawing exactly.
Relevant Artist(s) and Distinguished People: Käthe Kollwitz, Elizabeth Catlett, Hokusai, Edvard Munch
