SECOND GRADE . . . How can you make a copy?

Portrait by Ava

Portrait by Gavin

We are working on our self-portraits in Second Grade. Everyone created a wonderful outline drawing of themselves in pencil and black marker. These simple portraits will be reproduced 4 times on a copy machine and then handed back to the class next week to complete in many shades of colorful markers.

The inspiration for our project comes from the work of Andy Warhol, a well known Pop Artist from the 20th century. His art was a reaction to the sudden popularity of celebrities and mass produced items of that century, such as Coca Cola bottles and Campbell's Soup. He was also the one who came up with the expression, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." Most of Warhol's images are done as multiple prints to reflect just how "popular" the image is to all of us. We did not see Marilyn Monroe once, we saw her over and over again in movies, on TV, and in magazines. Warhol's portrait of Marilyn reflects her fame and her popularity.

Andy Warhol only made one portrait of Marilyn and then printed it out many times. We talked about the many ways someone can make an exact copy of an image. Some of my students thought about using a copy machine just like I will be doing with everyone's marker drawings. And what happens if you take a photograph with a camera and print out more than one copy? Each copy of the photograph will look exactly the same. An image from a computer can also be printed out multiple times. One second grader suggested we can even trace a drawing with tracing paper. That is a wonderful idea too!

Andy Warhol created multiple images for his Pop Art prints using a popular printing technique. He designed only one version of each portrait he made, and then constructed a screen from that image so that he can print it many times. This process is called "silk screening." When you purchase a printed T shirt from a store, chances are the printing was done this way. Each shirt looks exactly the same because they were all printed from the same screen.

Here is a screen that I made with the Ranney School logo. A very fine fabric (similar to silk) was stretched over a wooden frame and then coated with a film to seal off the holes in the fabric. Only the area that shows the Ranney logo is not coated. Fabric paint is then forced through the holes of the screen with a squeegee.

When the screen is lifted up, the shirt displays the printed logo.

Andy Warhol often used many colors with one screen and varied the colors from one print to the next. The images look identical, but the use of color makes them appear as separate works of art. We will use this idea with our marker portraits. We drew only one portrait on paper and these drawings will be copied on a copy machine. Next week we will experiment with color.  By varying the palettes we select for our hair, shirt and background, we will be able to make our own version of a Pop Art portrait.

Here is a question for you . . . If Andy Warhol was still creating his Pop Art images, what very famous person do you think he might want to do a portrait of today?

Note to families...
This art blog will be updated regularly with new posts sharing our daily activities in the art room and news about upcoming art exhibits. To respect the privacy of our students, names will always be limited to first name only and identifiable photos will never be accompanied with a name. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write in the comment box below or send me an email at blevine@ranneyschool.org. I would love to hear from you!
    In my class, students are given the chance to explore different materials and fun new techniques as they develop their signature style. Some young artists love to draw with a pencil, some like to paint on canvas or create images in a digital format, while others prefer working with clay and molding three-dimensional forms. In my classroom, we use a variety of materials allowing all artists to experiment and figure out which type of art they like the best. At Ranney School, we place a strong emphasis on originality and celebrate artistic differences, always nurturing and encouraging the imagination of every student.
     Remember to check out our display of finished artwork and student portfolios in the Ranney home page of Artsonia.com.  http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839