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Students can let their scratch art ideas come to life in this lesson.
Preparation:
Students will need a simple drawing of a flower or object which they can find on the Internet. They will be able to trace the drawing onto the special scratch art paper and soon will be able to create a nice etching. You can create your own scratch art paper using wax crayons and black paint, or markers and black wax crayons. However, it is hard to find silver markers or crayons so this scratcboard paper usually has to be purchased.
Materials:
- Scratch art paper (silver) – Silver Scratchboard paper (eg. Scratch-Brite brand) from art supply stores
- Scratch art pen
- Carbon paper
- Line drawing
- Pencil
Procedures:
Print out several line drawings or coloring pictures for students to trace depending upon grade level. Use a simple flower such as a tulip or a single rose for an elegant effect.
Place the carbon paper between the drawing and the scratch art paper (carbon side down). Using a pencil, trace the outlines of the drawing onto the scratch art paper. Black will show up on the paper.
Using small, light strokes, scratch the paper where the outlines of the drawing are. Complete the entire outline before making thicker lines or shadows. Go over lines 2 or 3 times to get a thicker line or shadow where you want emphasis on the drawing.
Do not add a background. Keep the drawing simple. If students want to add lines and features not in the original drawing this is okay, but backgrounds may take away from the effect they want. Simpler is better.
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Images
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Finishing
Using the scratch art pen, have students handwrite their name on the front of the scratch art picture. Younger grades such as fourth grade, should practice handwriting in pencil on the back of the paper first, then have them use the scratch art pen to scratch their first and last name on the front.
Frame this spring art project or mount on a contrasting background such as red for roses, yellow for tulips and sunflowers, and purple for crocuses. Frames can be made in a separate project out of tinfoil or shiny glitter glue on mattboard.
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Hints and Tips for Success
Different seasonal themes or other themes can be incorporated in this scratch art lesson. In spring, pick out simple drawings of tulips, daffodils, crosses, roses, or sunflowers. These make stunning Mother's Day gifts. Students will have time to create a frame for their scratch art idea.
During a season such as fall, use drawings of different leaf shapes, acorns, or scarecrows. In November, you can create realistic poppies or crosses for Remembrance Day. During winter, choose stars, or glittery objects such as snowflakes, decorations or bows for Christmas. At Easter choose lilies, crosses or Easter eggs.
In summer choose beach objects such as starfish, silvery fish, hooks or seashells. Sports themes (baseball gloves, golf clubs, running shoes) or animal themes (leopards, cheetahs, giraffes) can be used as well. Metal objects, pop cans, or utensils also make great scratch art ideas when done in silver.
Demonstrate how to do light strokes with the scratch art pen first. Remind students that you can make thicker lines but not thinner lines once you have scratched. Go back and forth over a line to thicken it.
Lines do not have to be continuous. Remind students that in nature, lines and edges of flower petals, for example, will not be straight. Nature is not perfect so jagged lines are not considered mistakes.
Show how to change the angle of the pen to get different effects. Once students are familiar with an effective etching technique, have them try their own freehand drawing instead of a traced design.
Use basic shapes for younger grades such as triangles, circles and squares. Students can make the objects look 2-dimensional by adding thicker lines on one side of the shapes or drawing them so the sides merge at a vanishing point. Older students can use more detailed designs and use them as guidelines for more intricate pictures. See the article on combining art and geometry using scratch art and other art ideas.
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Images
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Displaying the Finished Scratch Art
Frame and display the art together on a contrasting background such as white, red, bright pink or yellow. If possible, shine a light onto the art so the silver reflects the light. Frames can be made from foil covered cardboard, white mattboard, or frames made with wire art.
Students will enjoy the results of using scratch art ideas and techniques to create this art project for spring or Mother's Day. It is an easy scratch art lesson and yet; stunning!
