This project will provide every K–5 student with an accessible introduction to printmaking. Students will design, revise, and create original relief prints that communicate an idea, story, or connection to their classroom learning.
The project addresses a need for reusable, high-quality printmaking materials that allow all students—not only those with materials at home—to experience a process-based art form. It aligns with Florida Visual Arts standards for creating original artwork, using art tools and techniques safely, responding to artwork, and communicating meaning through visual art.
This project supports school and district priorities of student engagement, academic vocabulary, creativity, problem-solving, and equitable access to enriching learning experiences.
Students will explore printmaking through age-appropriate demonstrations of texture, positive and negative space, pattern, composition, and color. They will brainstorm and sketch an idea, transfer it to a soft printing plate, create a relief design, ink the plate, and produce multiple prints.
Younger students will create pattern and nature-inspired prints; older students will use printmaking to communicate personal narratives, community connections, or themes linked to grade-level classroom units. Students will participate in peer feedback, revise their work, and reflect on the choices they made as artists. Finished prints will be displayed in a school gallery or shared with families.
Students will gain confidence using unfamiliar art materials while strengthening fine-motor control, creative risk-taking, visual communication, and perseverance. Because printmaking produces multiple editions, students will also learn that artists can revise, reproduce, and share ideas with an audience.
Success will be measured through completed artwork, artist reflection statements, teacher observation checklists, and a rubric assessing safe tool use, planning, craftsmanship, and ability to explain artistic choices. At least 85% of participating students will complete a print that demonstrates purposeful use of pattern, texture, or composition.
Grant funds will purchase reusable and consumable printmaking supplies for approximately 600 K–5 students. Soft-cut printing plates, rollers, inking trays, and safety tools will allow students to independently plan, carve, ink, and print original relief designs. Water-soluble inks and printing paper provide the essential materials for students to create multiple editions and revise their work. These supplies directly support the project goal of building students’ artistic confidence, creative problem-solving, fine-motor skills, and understanding of printmaking as a visual communication process. The reusable tools will extend the impact of this grant beyond the current school year.
