1. 4th Grade Art Project West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program
Letterpress Poetry
Presentation modified and prepared by Alice Finch 2016
4th Grade Art Project
West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program

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3. Lesson Overview 1 Lesson: Haiku Poetry and Letterpress
Time: 2 sessions
1- 75 minutes + 30 min cleanup
2- 60 minutes + 30 min cleanup
Volunteers: 4
Medium: printmaking
Curriculum connection: poetry
Project Overview/Skills
Students will write poetry in small groups and then set the type, make background patterns or emboss the paper, then print the poetry

4. Letterpress Poetry Materials Needed
Session 1- For each Student
Session 2- For the Class
Scratch paper or lined paper for writing poetry
9x12 Bristol Paper
Session 1- For the Class
Stencil patterns
Background patterns
Block printing ink colors (water base)
Brayers- big and little
Brown craft paper or scrap construction paper- to cover up ink mess so it doesn’t get on fresh paper etc.
Blue tape for holding stencils in place
Scrub brushes for cleanup
Letterpress cart with
Letter type
Print ink (rubber based)
Paint can opener
Linseed oil
Syringe for linseed oil
Letterpress brayer (for rubber ink)
Acrylic plate for rolling out ink
Scrap construction paper for making paper mask around text
Gojo soap for hands
Clean up bins
Gloves
Vegetable oil
Scrub brush
Paper towels

5. Display
Once the project is finished, student work should be mounted on colored paper and displayed either in the classroom or in the designated area in the hallway.
If there are some who have not finished, please check with the teacher on how they would like to proceed. Do not assume that it ok to continue the project after the allotted time.

6. While reading the book, volunteers can set up the inking stations
Cover tables with butcher paper
Will need 6-8 stations
If no extra tables available in class or in hall, may need to move kids from desks to share with other kids in order to have designated table space
Each station needs space for
Stencil
Bristol paper
Inking acrylic and brayer
The stencil should be taped at the top so that it can be lifted up, a paper put under, then let down
Green = butcher paper
White= paper
Blue = stencil- taped at top
Orange = ink acrylic & brayer

7. Today’s Project
Letterpress Haiku

8. Basho- Haiku Poet
An old silent pond…. A frog jumps into the pond, splash! Silence again. Basho

9. Step 1 – Nature Haiku Big idea in few words Topics for today- nature
Animals
For example- Pollinating insect
Purring cat
Plants
Dandelion seeds
Giant oak tree
Places
Rippling water
Snow covered …

10. Step 2 – The point of haiku
Simple
Quiet
Specific small moment
Related to nature
Structure of the poem
5-7-5 syllables
On your paper, make a list of 5 things you could write about
Be specific- crocus vs. flower, elm vs. tree, drizzle or raindrop vs. rain

11. Step 3 – Start with a small moment
The general idea
Autumn leaves fall quietly
Gather words for your main ideas
Make a chart like this on your paper
Pick one of your ideas and collect words
You may use a thesaurus
What does it look like?
What does it do?
How does it do it?
Autumn leaves
Fall
quietly
Crimson
Paper thin
Variegated
Vibrant
Scalloped
tinged
Tumble
Float
swirl
Alone
In a gust of wind
Flurry
slowly

12. Step 4 – Work with the words & syllables
Work on the idea, then work on getting the right words
Autumn leaves fall quietly
Bright red leaves / pulled by an autumnal wind / float to the ground
A crimson tinged leaf / plucked by an autumnal gust, / tumbles to the ground.
What does it look like?
What does it do?
How does it do it?
Autumn leaves
Fall
quietly
Crimson
Paper thin
Variegated
Vibrant
Scalloped
tinged
Tumble
Float
swirl
Alone
In a gust of wind
Flurry
slowly

13. Step 5 - Images
What kind of images can you put on the background of your haiku letterpress poster?
Patterns
Object to represent plant/a
Write your name on the back of your Bristol paper-
Lightly
Bottom edge
you don’t want the impression of the writing to show through on the front
Stencil options:

14. Step 6 – Stenciling Stencil options
Small designs, like these leaves, can be used more than once on a single page or it can be centered
All over stencils
Use blue tape on top side of the stencil to hold it in place
Lift it up and place your paper carefully so it is centered

15. Stencil and Ink signups
Make a chart for inking so that when one student is done at a station, they can get the next person
For example:
leaves + red/yellow ink
leaves + brown/green ink
Paisley + purple/teal
Put your name on the back of the Bristol paper now, before you ink it!

16. Step 7 – Ink Block printing ink
Use at least 2 shades/tints (blue + white or light green + dark green)
Here is dark yellow + orange + red mixed together a little bit- you want it to be mottled
No dark colors or the letterpress inks won’t show on it

17. Step 8 – Use a brayer
Roll the brayer in the ink- in doing this you can mix a bit of the shades together- do not mix it so much that it becomes all the same color
Dab the brayer in the different shades to add more highlights if needed
Roll the brayer over the stencil

18. Step 9 – Move it and Stencil Again
If you want, you can pick up the stencil, move it and stencil again.
Be aware that when you do this, you will get ink on the back side from the first round of inking. If you move it again, it can leave light impressions, which can look nice.

19. Step 10 – Printing without re-inking
This shows three impressions from only one inking
Top = 1st printing
Middle = 2nd printing
Bottom = 3rd printing
You can do this on purpose to get a more subtle printed pattern

20. Step 11 – Things to consider
Hold plastic stencils down with blue tape
If the stencil is bigger than the paper, consider how you want to center it
If using a wooden stencil, put the paper on the stencil, not the other way around. You can use a baren (wooden spoon) to help it make an even printing

21. Step 12- Drying Put printed paper on drying rack
After cleanup, can put stencils and ink acrylic sheets on rack to dry also

22. Step 1 – Letterpress
Letterpress is how things were printed before printing became digital- it was labor intensive and time consuming, which made the printed word valuable and respected.
Steps to printing
Write the text by hand
Set the type (letter by letter)
Format the page (fill in the gaps and tighten it up so it won’t move around
Ink the text
Paper and packing (extra paper so there is some ‘give’ when pressure is applied)
Load the galley into the press
Crank the press
Unload, and then…

23. West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program 2016
Letterpress Basics
Presentation prepared by Alice Finch 2016
West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program 2016

24. Letterpress
Hydraulic press with release

25. Setting the type
Letters are reversed- b and d, p and q, even a and g can be confusing
If you set it wrong, you will know when you do your first printing- fix it and print again
Type is set into a galley or tray

26. Furniture
Furniture is the term used for all the pieces of wood that act as spacers on top, bottom, the edges, and between lines
example

27. Shims to tighten

28. Mask for edge of text to protect the galley from ink
Use a piece of scrap or construction paper
Cut out a rectangle to fit your type to mask off any extra around the frame
If ink does get on the mask (and you need to reprint), put a scrap over the spot so that it doesn’t get on your Bristol paper
Can also just use blue tape

29. Printing Ink Open ink can with screwdriver or paint can opener
Use the spackle knife to remove only a small amount of ink- just enough to cover the edge of the knife
Scrape ink onto glass and spread out
Any unused ink can be scraped up and put back in the can
8 minute video on how printing ink is made  

30. Dilute with Linseed Oil
Use the dropper to add a few drops of linseed oil to the ink
The ink in the top picture is too thick (see the ripples and hear the sticky sound)
Add linseed oil until less friction and less ripples
Apply ink with narrow brayer dedicated to printing ink

31. Galley Prep Galley set with letters, furniture, and shims
Text is inked
If there are inky spots on the furniture or galley, cover them with bits of scrap paper so they don’t accidentally print
Drop the thick bristol paper on top
do not reposition if it is tilted
Place 2 -3 sheets of thin scratch paper as ‘packing’ paper (helps prevent the Bristol paper from being damaged by the force of printing)
Add one more Bristol paper on top

32. Printing Place galley in the center of the press
Use the handle and crank the jack down until it meets the galley
Crank 2 more times
Use the pressure release and the top of the press will raise

33. Results Release the jack with the white knob Remove the galley
Remove the top sheet and packing paper
Carefully peel up the printed page
It can pull on the type so do it slowly to keep the type in place

34. Printed Project Type will stay wet for at least 24 hours
Do not stack until dry
If it takes longer than 24 hours to dry, the ink was probably too thick (use a few more drops of linseed oil)

35. Take it home
When the ink is dry, you can take your project home in a white envelope.

36. Ink Cleanup Gloves Dishpans
Vegetable oil- a few tablespoons in the bottom
Wipe off text first
Then set a few pieces of type in oily pan (don’t put all in as you don’t want it to absorb the oil)
Scrub with brush
Wipe with paper towels until no more ink left on type
Clean the ink knife as well
Scrub hands with Gojo soup to get off any ink