Month: March 2026

This week we moved into the second stage of our printing process.   This process requires us to work with a hot glue gun. Mr Johnston clearly explained the dangers of not using it correctly.

Alex demonstrated what needs to be done with the hot glue.  This step in the process is about tracing the outlines of the picture with the hot glue.  It needs to be “thickish” in order to make a clear print.  Once this process is completed, we let the glue dry.  Next week, we will be using the ink roller to add colour and finishing off our print.

This week we are starting with a new art project with Mr Johnston.  He will be teaching us about the print making process by using printing ink and an ink roller.

Firstly, we need a black and white photo of ourselves and a piece of MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard).  We will be using the same technique as the PVA portraits we have done earlier this month.

We have to start with colouring the back of our printed photo in pencil, covering the whole area. Once that has been completed, we position the photo over the MDF and trace it as hard as possible. This way the image will transfer onto the MDF – just as we did with the PVA art work.

We have completed this process today and will continue with the next steps during the course of the week.  Looking forward to the end product!

This March, our classroom took a vibrant turn as Mr. Johnston introduced us to the bold, colorful world of Pop Art (short for “Popular Art”). If you’ve ever seen those bright, comic-book-style portraits by artists like Andy Warhol, you know exactly the vibe we were going for!

We didn’t just paint, though—we used a pretty cool multi-step technique to bring our portraits to life. Here’s how we did it:

We started with a simple black-and-white photo of ourselves.

To get our image onto the final paper, we shaded the entire back of our photos with grey pencils. (you can use any dark pencil that will be able to transfer) By placing the photo face-up on a sheet of bright, colored paper and tracing our features, the pressure “transferred” the pencil lead onto the new page.

We were given squirt bottles filled with a special mixture of black PVA paint. We had to have steady hands as we traced over our transferred outlines.

The contrast between the thick, raised black lines and the colorful paper looked incredible. The finished pieces are bold, modern, and—dare I say—gallery-ready! It was a blast seeing everyone’s personality shine through in such a “popular” style.  Below are just a few of our artists showing their work.