Hand Carved Rubber Stamps

For their first project, students (grades 6-8) explored simple relief printing techniques and designed and carved their own rubber stamps using rubber erasers. In addition to learning how to safely and effectively carve, students investigated art-making concepts such as negative space, reversed images, and simple shapes. Students were encouraged to depict a symbol that they felt best represented their personality and identity.

The hand-carved rubber stamp and the corresponding relief print.

Exploring the Works of Pacita Abad

The students’ collaborative painting

Ecstasy (1990) by Pacita Abad

In the spring, we examined the works of Pacita Abad— an iconic Filipino painter— and practice our collaboration skills in a painted “recreation” of her piece, Ecstasy (1990). Students (from Kindergarten through 8th grade) were given a section of the piece. In pairs, they were tasked with replicating their assigned portion of the painting. At the end, all of the pieces would be assembled to reveal a “recreation” of Abad’s original piece.

This project encouraged them to practice their technical skills— such as proportion and color matching— as well as their interpersonal skills—such as communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. More abstractly, this activity exposed the students who the works of Pacita Abad, an artist with a Philippine-born and American immigrant background; an identity that resonated with many of the students.