Reduction Printmaking 7/8 grade Elective

Our elective class used linoleum carvings to create a still life. The hardest part was understanding what color to print each step.

We had to start with the lightest color and then carve out the next darker color, and so on.

They did a great job lining the prints up with holes at the top. I used an old clipboard and matting along the sides.

They liked mixing up any color they liked. Here he used two shades of green for the watermelon.

Reduction Printing of Still Life

This is the first time I tried Reduction Printing with my Seventh Grade.

 Each Student drew a picture of some kind of still life and then chose three colors (plus white) they would use to print the design.

 It was hard for them to understand how it would work until we got going.

This printing technique is called reduction because you are always reducing the amount of area that will be printed.

The first carving of the linoleum was the white area. We printed the lightest color first. Then the next area was carved that would show the light color.