15.2 Final Project: Tiny Prints by Tiny People

I rolled Community, Laser Cutting, and Printmaking for my final project.  After letting these options marinate for a few days, I decided to focus on the word community and what that means to me.  It didn't take long for me to think about the community setting where I spend most of my time.  Working in a preschool means that my community is made up of very tiny, loving, creative people.  How would I incorporate this community into my final project for New Media?

In lieu of one of our typical classroom activities, the students of the Garden Room learned a little bit about printmaking.  Bear in mind, these children are three years old!  We made some of our own stamps for printmaking using recycled materials as well as using some fun animal, shape and letter stampers that we had hiding in the classroom!  I let each child choose paper and paint colors and assisted as they explored the world of printmaking.

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Above are an array of colorful prints produced by my Garden Room friends!  

After our print exploration, it was time to think about how these artworks would be displayed.  I have always loved the ornate and vintage feeling of old picture frames.  I decided it would be a fun twist to laser cut vintage frames for these tiny pieces of fine art.  In addition to the laser cut and etched frames, I also created small stands to display each framed work of art.  I loved this idea of a tiny fine art experience!

My final project resulted in a mini art show: Tiny Prints by Tiny People

The pièce de résistance... A tiny exhibition guide detailing the works in the show

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It was definitely a challenge to think outside the box and figure out how to incorporate Community, Laser Cutting, and Printmaking into one project!  I had a blast with this project and I am very proud of the result!  

Curating the show was the most difficult part!  The frames are so tiny that I had to use each of them as a view finder in order to zoom in and capture the most dynamic moment within each print!