lesson plan using printing

Homework #8 (3) Create a dedicated lesson plan for students/children that allows for them to explore printing creatively.

Title: Printing as an Art Form
Activity: Manipulating images through printing
Number in Group and Age: twenty fifth grade students
Objective: Through printing, using various printer settings and different types of papers students will learn that an image can be altered in an artful way.
Materials: Matte Paper, Glossy Paper, Computers, Printers, Images
Time Allotted: one-two 50 minute classes

At the beginning of class, a demo would be given regarding the proper use of a printer and the appropriate printer settings necessary to achieve desired results. Once the students understand how to print in different ways they will be broken up into groups of 3 or 4. Each group will be given a graphic image and will be given a challenge. The challenge will be to create four different versions of the same image using the printing settings and different types of paper. Once completed they will hang their works in a sequence in the front of the room and present their two favorite different versions and explain how they made such different works using the printer.

Printing

Homework #8 (1) We started to discuss this in class. Go back to your notes and share your thoughts on your experiences with the printing process. Try to respond to those 2 or 3 questions: What are you learning about printing (as a process)? Where do you see its creative potential? And what did you learn about photography?

This experience of exploring printing as an art form and as process was definitely beneficial for me. Prior to our printing lesson I had never thought about printing as anything more than a technical act of transforming a digital document, image or graphic onto paper. After studying advertising in my undergraduate education and receiving instruction as to how to print I assumed that I understood printing and how setting up a photoshop document for print works. It turns out what I knew was merely the intro to the basics of printing, which shocked me because I thought I knew a lot about printing.

After listening to the presentation in class I realized that there is so much more to printing than the basic printer settings, and after exploring printing myself I realized that printing can make or break a piece of printed art work and can be an artful process. Printing can enhance a visual bringing out details and excentuating colors if done correctly. If done incorrectly printing can butcher a visual. Although many parts of the printing process are technical and the use of settings and adjustments it is also a visual experimental process, seeing what settings and what types of paper are best for the print.

I believe that printing has limited creative potential. Although printing can enhance an existing image or detract from it, the image is the point of focus and printing can only do so much to an image or graphic. Possible manipulating printed pieces could result in a new creative piece but physically printing as a process is too restricting.

Through exploring printing I ended up learning a lot about photography. I realized that in my life photography that I experience is primarily digital on social media (Facebook, instantagram) or in libraries on google. No matter how much I love photos in my iPhoto library I never print them. The act of printing photographs seems pointless to me unless they are going into a scrapbook or are to be framed. Regardless of my aforementioned disregard for printing as a creative process I must admitt that printing an image really changes the image's aesthetic. It truly transforms the piece, yet it really only transforms how the viewer experiences the piece not the underlying aesthetic of the work.

do it!

Homework #7 (3) Go back to your blog and think about what you wouldl ike to spend more time with. Choose carefully. - Do it!

scanography

Homework #7 (1) Produce a number of 12 scans with 3 interesting materials or material groups. Let your creativity be your guide. Publish your scans on the blog one image after the next. Add a paragraph of description reflecting the specific outcome and your choices.  2) Create a blog post in which you reflect on the medium of scanning as such: think of our discussion in class, record your experiences, describe what scanning can do for an artist, how it can serve as a bridge between photography, traditional printing techniques, and digital printing. As you compare scanning to traditional printing techniques; visit the printing studio, think of a photography etc. to make additional comparisons.

This was the first time I worked with a scanner in an artful way and must say that it was a truly insightful experience. I knew from the research I did that scanners made it possible to make art in a way I had never thought of before, yet something about physically working with the scanner opened my mind to a new way of thinking. It is remarkable that scanners work like cameras with slow shutter speeds, I am amazed at what they are capable of capturing and they ways they can be manipulated.

Below are three series of scanography that I experimented with.

Water Bottle

Leafs

iphone with flashlight

I picked these 3 series because they most exemplified the manipulation that can be done using a scanner, and they were the most aesthetically enticing. The leaf series shows how if you move an object on the scanner while it is scanning the form will be captured differently then if it is left alone. The water bottle series explores the same manipulation with the addition of water which has a very reflective quality. Lastly the iphone series experiments with light and how the scanner reacts to light while scanning. I had many more images in each series but chose to post the most intriguing images.

BevShots

Came across this on a blog!!!

"Ever wondered what Vodka looks like under a microscope? Or Pina Colada (see above)? Or Whiskey? Thankyou, then, BevShots, which are literally ‘photographs of alcohol under a microscope … taken after they have been crystallized on a slide and shot under a polarized light microscope. As the light refracts through the beverage crystals, the resulting photos have naturally magnificent colors and composition’. Indeed they do. Awe-and-some. Read on to see which photo corresponds with which drink."

Pina Colada:

 Dry Martini:

 Coca Cola:

 Whiskey:

 German Pilsner:

 Champagne:

 Vodka Tonic:

So cool!!!

Telling a story through images

Homework #6 (3) We began in class to create an interesting narrative by using your photograph as a starting point and adding 9 images from the web. As you tell your story, don’t use additional captions or titles; have the images speak for themselves. Arrange your images and upload them to a pinterest board or on your blog in the order you seem fit. If you haven't already, finish this assignment. Add a few sentences about this experience and what you were trying to achieve or were this assignment got you on your blog.

This project of telling a story through images was very challenging for me. I had not anticipated to struggle with it yet I genuinely had a hard time. I think that it was the combination of not being sure what my story was and the limited amount of pictures on the web, it was so hard to find images that fit and made sense the way I had imagined in my head. There was a huge gap between how I thought the pictures should look and what was readily available to me. It ended up taking me all of the class work time and additional time at home. Should I ever do I project like this again I will put more thought into creating a story with less particular details. Also much like with other art projects the creative results stem from the experimenting with materials, my story ended up changing because of my searching on the web and my coming across images that worked in a different way.

Photography

Homework 6 ( 4) Think about photography for a little bit and about its materiality and the process of taking a picture. Make 3 connections to children. (I skipped the photographic lesson plan as I don't want to ask too much from you).

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” 

― Ansel Adams

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” 

― Karl Lagerfeld

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” 

― Dorothea Lange

The process of taking a picture is quite simple, while the outcome of taking a picture is extraordinary.

This is perfect for children because a camera allows a child to create artwork with a click of a button, Yes, skill and technique are important in photography at a higher level. For children skill is not important nor is technique, what is important is that they can explore and capture the world in a single click.

Through photography children can be taught much about art. By looking at photos they have taken and from taking pictures much can be learned about composition, color and even perspective.

Photography is a great tool for children because unlike other media they may use at a young age cameras allow them to capture an image, or an experience without the anxieties of being accurate.