Make a glue-line relief print.

One of the great things about printmaking is that you can make several prints of one image and all of them are originals! That means you can share your artwork with your school, friends, and family and still keep some for yourself. The prints you see on this page are relief prints -- images made by inking and printing raised areas. You will need a printing press to make these prints.

Start with several contour drawings of yourself or classmate. Strive to make every line very clear and not too close together. It is better not to make tiny details. Pick the best one and use transfer paper to trace it onto a piece of mat board or chipboard that is the same size as your paper. If you want it to look exactly like your drawing then trace it backwards onto the plate.

You will make the relief (raised areas) by tracing the transfer lines on the board with white glue. Be very careful applying the glue. Open the cap just a little bit so that when you squeeze it out it will make a line. If you squeeze out too much glue it will spread and make more of a shape than a line. Let the glue dry overnight then apply another layer of glue on top of the dried glue lines. Repeat this step until you have four layers of glue lines. Now you are ready to print.

First, cut several pieces of paper to print onto. Try a variety of colors and types of paper like construction and rice paper. The paper you print on should be about two inches wider and longer than the plate. Roll ink over the entire plate, making sure to cover evenly and completely.

Lay a cover sheet down on the felt, then your inked plate face up, then the printing paper, another cover sheet and then the felt and run it through the press. Keep printing until you have several good ones -- prints where the ink is even and the image is clear. Watch for smudges! Put your work in a safe place until it dries.

For a striking one-of-a-kind print, lay a piece of paper over one of your finished prints and trace lightly. Collage tissue paper into the areas defined by your tracing. Now ink your plate and lay it image side down on the collaged paper -- making sure the lines match up with your collage areas and run it through the press.