During my last week with Fishtown Rec Center Kindergarteners, I decided it would be fun for them to learn a simple printmaking technique. We only needed plastic bags, washable markers, paper, Sharpies and a spray bottle. They first drew onto their papers with Sharpies – we talked about how they are permanent and will not come out of clothing, so we have to be super careful when using them. This also lends to the fact the Sharpie drawing will not smudge or smear when it gets wet.
Next step, they colored all over the bags with the washable markers, trying to just get blocks of color all over.
Last, I sprayed the bags with water and the kids flipped their papers onto the wet bag and pressed down. When they felt like they saturated the paper enough, they lifted their papers to reveal a tie-dye like effect. The washable markers blended and stuck to the paper, but didn’t smudge the Sharpie drawing.
This simple printmaking technique can also be used to foil instead of plastic sandwich bags. It’s a great way to learn color mixing, abstraction, and printmaking!