Project Title: Portrait Collagraph Printmaking
Medium: Printmaking
Grade Theme: Humans and Fantasy

Overview: Students create portrait collage printing plates and prints from the collage
Art Skills: Printmaking and collage
Process: Students first draw a portrait with help from instructors, who break down the anatomy of human heads including proportion, measuring, and skills used in diagraming a face. Then, they cut the portrait out and make a collage with layers of the different features. Finally, students learn to use professional printmaking materials including brayers and block printing ink to ink their “plates” and print their final portraits.
Materials: professional art printing paper, brayers, block printing ink, glue
Tools Provided by Classroom: Scissors, pencils, white glue
Vocabulary: Portrait, profile, printmaking, symmetry
Additional Resource: Printmaking history
Multiple Subject Integration: math, history

*Please note that samples were made by teaching artists. Students will be encouraged to make their own versions of this project. Please DO NOT show students these samples in advance of the art lesson.

Description Summary: Today students had a special art lesson making Collagraph Portrait Prints using professional printmaking materials. They discussed the history and function of printing and observed, measured and mapped human face anatomy. They deconstructed and drew individual features, cut and glued a collage “plate” and finally, printed their portraits in bright, primary colors.