Printmaking class introduces students to various methods of printmaking, including foam relief printing and collagraphy. Prompts encourage students to explore facets of pattern design, composition, and contrast. Printmaking offers a hands-on approach to 2D artwork creation.
Check out the tutorial video below from our instructor, Ms. Corrie:
Printmaking class with Ms. Corrie focuses on subjects such botanical prints, paper & ink marbling, mandala design and printing, abstract composition, pattern design, seascapes, fantastical creatures, birds, multi-block print landscape.
This class is available on Thursday from 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Printing with Repurposed Styrofoam Lesson from McNay Art Museum
Suggested materials
Styrofoam to-go container or meat tray
Scissors
Pencil
Craft Paint
Water container
Paper plate or large lid for paint palette
Newspaper and paper towels
Sponges for applying paint
Paper
Instructions
Thoroughly wash a styrofoam container to remove any remaining food or grease.
Cut out the flat pieces of the container.
Draw your designs into the foam with a pencil or pen. The pencil cuts into the foam making a groove. Don’t worry if you accidentally poke through the foam. It shouldn’t affect the print as long as the foam is still in one piece.
You may want to draw your design on a piece of paper first since you cannot “erase” the lines in the foam. To transfer, tape your drawing to the foam and trace over the lines of your drawing. Go over the lines in the foam again to deepen.
Prepare your palette by squeezing a small amount of paint onto the plate.
Working quickly, apply paint with sponge. The paint dries very fast! We got better results by not trying to color in the lines and just applying paint in general areas.
Place paper on top of the painted foam and roll with your paint bottle. This helps the paint transfer to the paper.
Separate the paper from the foam, peeling gently. Let dry.
Make another print by applying more paint to the foam. If you want to change colors or put away for another day, gently wash with water and let dry.
Tips
Applying the Paint
Use foam stencil brushes from another project. A kitchen sponge cut into small pieces would work too. A small paint roller would work if you weren’t concerned with getting colors in precise areas.
Printing over a Printed Area
Allow your print to dry completely before printing another shape on top. Printing on a wet area in our tests either removed the first layer of paint from the paper or the top layer of paper all together. Make lots of prints of your favorite shape so you have some extra to print on once they dry.
Sourcing paint
If you don’t have craft paint handy, poster paint or finger paint may work. You might also be able to use paint from a craft kit.
Printing Text
You’ll notice that prints are mirror images of your printing plate. If you want to print words, they have to be written in reverse. Try it on a piece of a paper first and check it in a mirror. The words should appear normally in there reflection. Tape the paper to the foam and trace over the letters pressing firmly. Remove the paper and go over the lines to deepen.
Combining with Drawing
Embellish your print with drawing. Other shapes that you can try are things like sunglasses, a top hat,and crown.
Note about Designs
You can also cutout shapes without incising a design into the foam. Some fun shapes to try like moon, sun,and cloud shapes. The shapes can also double as stencils for tracing. Feel free to combine multiple prints per page.
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