Botanical Mandala Printmaking Lesson

This is a fun lesson I have for middle school. I did this project with my sixth graders, but it could easily be expanded and adjusted to fit older groups of students. It takes several class periods and has multiple stages in the process of designing and making a print.  The students loved it! The funnest part for most of them seemed to be inking and using the printing press. The majority had never seen or used a printing press, so it was a great new tool for them. See below for more info. about the process!

Final Botanical Print

Our local Botanical Gardens has an art show every year and I had students create some artwork with the botanical/nature theme in mind. Later, some of their pieces might be chosen to submit to the show.

To give students some background information, we discussed botanical illustration, its uses, and some of its advantages and disadvantages over photographs. We also discussed how and why the illustrations are made as prints. To get the students thinking and looking at different designs, I had them research at least 4 different plants. In their sketchbooks, they drew a small sketch of the 4 plants and wrote down two interesting facts about each one. I met with students individually to discuss their designs and the students settled on one design they wanted to develop.

Student Plant Sketch and Facts

Student Plant sketches and 1/4 Mandala Design

The next step of the project was to make a mandala (circular) design based off of their sketch. To do this part, students first had to get a CD and trace it 2 times on drawing paper. The CD tracings were then cut out and each was divided into quarters. Then the student would draw their design in 1/4 of the 1st circle. The 2nd blank circle was then placed over the design and students duplicate the design into to each of the sections of the circle using a light box. This way the design is identical in each section. I allowed some designs to be done using a half of the circle if it worked better with the plant design they had chosen, this creates a reversible design that looks the same right-side up and upside-down. For instance, bamboo was better suited to this layout because it was long and the shoots would be oddly cut off if it was forced to be drawn in quarters.

Steps to Make Mandala Design

Student Sketch and Mandala Design

Making the printing plate was the next step in the process; the CD used to make the tracings became the printing plate. First off, students used the graphite transfer method to transfer their designs onto the CD's. Then they went in with a stylus or compass needle and engraved (cut or scratched) the design into the CD. After the design was engraved, students were ready to make prints.

Students used paper scrapers and paper towels to work ink into the lines they had scratched. For printing, the only place that should have ink was the engraved lines, everywhere else had to be wiped clean. Once the plate was inked, students ran their plates through a printing press with damp paper on top to take the print. After the plate was through the press, students slowly peeled their paper off the CD to reveal their print. The reveal was always a fun part for students!

Students made at least two prints: one in black and white and one in color. Many loved using multiple colors on one print and this created various interesting effects. Several turned out looking like tie-dye. Yellow was the only color that didn't really show up well because it was so light.

To finalize the project, students mounted their prints on construction paper, labeled their plants, and included the 2 researched facts about their plant. Many students got creative and added extra bits of flair and decoration to their pieces. They turned out wonderful and I was very impressed with their work.

Here are some student examples, enjoy!

Prints on Display in the School