Andy Warhol Print Project
Andy Warhol is a famous American painter who became known for his contributions to the Pop Art movement. He took everyday items that you could find anywhere and turned them into mass produced art. He used the process of printmaking to create enough art pieces for the masses to buy. He is most famous for his prints of Campbell’s Soup Cans, Marilyn Monroe, and Coca-Cola bottles. Warhol believed if one looks great why not make a hundred on the same piece of art. He wanted to focus attention on the American icons of everyday life.
Below you will find the step by step instructions to create your own printmaking project of a soup can that can be done with a Styrofoam plate, paint and a brush. This is a great way for kids to experience and understand the idea of printmaking and the ability of producing more than one piece of art from their own creation.
I recommend this project for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students.
Supplies
2-3 styrofoam plates per student
Black tempera paint
Sponge brushes
Container to put paint in.
4 and a half by 5 inch pieces of bright colored paper (5-6 per student)
Pencils
Scrap paper pieces, 1 per student
1. First draw a large soup can on the board for the class to see. Go over where to put the lines to make it resemble a can, the circle in the center, and lines to the sides. Also, have the students put some designs in the circle and at the bottom of the can.
2. Have the students trace the soup can stencil on a scrap piece of paper and practice printing the word Tomato on the top part of the can and Soup on the bottom part of the can…backwards. This is the hardest part for the students and this is why I have them do a practice paper first. I draw the words on my soup can on the board backwards so the students can copy what I write.
3. After they feel confident with their practice paper, I pass out a plate to each kid and have them trace the stencil and draw their can and details on the plate. I explain that you must press hard to get a good indention on the plate, but not so hard they poke a hole in it.
4. When they show me they are finished with this step I give them a sponge brush and black tempera paint to get started. Students can share the paint and brushes.
5. They need to put paint at the top of the plate and with movements only going down, paint over the impressed drawing. Once it is painted they take one of their pieces of paper( I used a 4 and a half by 5 inch piece of bright colored construction paper) and had the kids press a piece over their painted area. Make sure they put their names on the back of their pieces of paper. After pressing lightly, they can pull it up by a corner and see what they created.
6. Sometimes it doesn’t turn out great. Have the students press their lines again with their pencil, or they may just need to start over on a new plate. I would make sure you have 2-3 plates per kid.
7. The goal is to get 3 finished prints from each student. Then I mounted them on a piece of black construction paper (you can see the stencil I made for the students to use. I made 20 so they could share them).
