Line Prints

Thinking with a Line is an engaging form of printmaking using small pieces of cardboard and tempera paint. Students of all ages can make lines with intention through the stamping process: Unlocking Creativity | Thinking with a Line 

Emphasis on the Elements of Art: line, shape, and space.

TK: Making Shapes with Lines

CREATING—Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

PK.VA:Cr2.1  Use a variety of artmaking tools.

Essential Question: How do artists work?

TK classes explored making horizontal and vertical lines. They made thick overlapping lines with small cardboard edges dipped in black tempera paint. When dry, students used primary hue oil pastels to color some of the printed shapes that emerged from the printed lines. 

Artist Connections

Joaquín Torres-Garcia, Construction in White and Black, 1938

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930

Minnie Sue Coleman, Pig in a Pen, ca. 1970

Kindergarten: Lines and Letters

CREATING—Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

K.VA:Cr2.1 Through experimentation, build skills in various media and approaches to artmaking.

Essential Question: How do artists work? 

Students looked for examples of straight and curved lines in letters of the alphabet. They discovered multiple ways to form letters with the straight and curved cardboard pieces. Students practiced printing letters while aiming to compose a design that was pleasing to their eye. 

Artist Connections

The Butterfly Alphabet by Kjell Bloch Sandved, 1996 (Photography book of magnified butterfly and moth wings) 

Artist Unknown, Alphabet, Textile from Nigeria, ca. 2000s

1st grade: Textile Patterns

CREATING—Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

1.VA:Cr2.1  Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design.

Essential Question: How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work is effective? 

Students identified and predicted visual patterns in artists' textiles. Together they clapped hands and snapped fingers to correspond with the vertical and horizontal lines they saw in the textiles. Each student made line prints with tempera paint to create their own pattern design.

Design Principles: Pattern, Repetition, Variety

Artist Connections

Asante People, Kente Cloth Bolt, ca. 1900s

Artist Unknown, Tapa Cloth, Textile from Indonesia, date unknown

2nd grade: A Beautiful Place

CREATING—Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. 

2.VA:Cr1.2  Make art or design with various art materials and tools to explore personal interests, questions, and curiosity.

CONNECTING—Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

2.VA:Cn10  Create works of art about events in home, school, or community life.

Each 2nd grader visualized and created an image of a remembered place that is special to the student. They used tempera paint and the corrugated edge of cut cardboard to make lines that described “a beautiful place.” Students' subject choices ranged from their own school playground, a favorite park, to the Golden Gate Bridge. The following session, we reviewed the basics of color mixing through a demo (and the humorous children’s book Monsters Love Colors) before students blended oil pastels on their line prints. 

Artist Connections

Michael Graves, Fargo-Moorhead Cultural Center Bridge, project design, 1978   

Mike Austin, Monsters Love Colors, 2013

3rd grade: Names and Patterns

CREATING—Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. 

3.VA:Cr1.1  Elaborate on an imaginative idea.

Enduring Understanding: Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed.

Students made line prints of the letters in their names. Next, they created original designs for the surrounding border using repeating and overlapping letters. 

Artist Connections

Artist Unknown, Alphabet, Textile from Nigeria, ca. 2000s

Sneha Shresth, “I Want to Be the Kind of Person That…”, mural commissioned by Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, 2000s

4th grade: Trees and Animals

CREATING—Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

3.VA:Cr2.1 Create personally satisfying artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials.

Essential Question: How do artists and designers learn from trial and error?

Students set the stage for a “near and far” composition with three preliminary horizontal lines indicating foreground, midground, and background. The landscape was then populated with line prints of trees and animals. 

Artist Connections

Minami Keiko, Taking Flight, 1958

Paul Klee, Tree Nursery, 1921

5th grade: Things We Care About

CONNECTING—Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

5.VA:Cn11 Identify how art is used to inform or change beliefs, values, or behaviors of an individual or society.

Essential question: How is art used to impact the views of a society?

5th grade classes observed local and international murals from Sea Walls – Artists For Oceans to see and discuss how art can inform and bring attention to issues impacting oceans and sea life. They viewed recent mural “activations” in Emeryville and Santa Cruz. Using line stamps for lettering, 5th graders created an original poster centered on an issue that they care about (relating to sea or land habitats). The following session, students observed more international Sea Walls murals and discussed the artistic devices they felt were visually impactful, such as contrasting warm and cool colors. Next, students practiced mixing original hues with oil pastels before adding color and details to their artwork.

Artist Connections

Steffi Lynn, Protect What You Love, Sea Walls mural in Emeryville, California, 2022

Jet Martinez, Pérdida de Coral es Pérdida de Cultura, Sea Walls mural in Cozumel, Mexico, 2019