Eraser Print Collage “Quilts”
My 7th graders began this lesson by carving their own unique stamps on 1” square rubber erasers. Using tempera paint, they printed their stamp design on 4” squares of construction paper, experimenting with paint color and stamp rotation patterns— the goal was to create a variety of matching pairs.
Each student chose their four best printed pairs and one unique square, (for the center,) to create a large 9-patch collage “quilt”. On top of that, they added a stamped design in their choice of white and/or black paint to tie together the separate squares into one unified piece.
The elements and principles of art and vocabulary that we focused on for this lesson include Unity, Symmetry, Balance and Pattern.
Ms. Amsler's Artroom 
Sep 02, 2014 @ 19:54:56
These are gorgeous! I’m going to have to try this with one of my classes!
Feb 17, 2023 @ 00:42:57
What tool did students use to carve the erasers?
Thank you, beautiful work!
Feb 17, 2023 @ 20:15:08
traditional linoleum carving tools!
Jul 21, 2023 @ 04:04:11
Thanks for sharing all of your awesome lessons! These look so fun. For the eraser, I see is is a Sax brand eraser. Is it the art gum or the soap? I’m not familiar with the carving tools. Do the kids use them pretty easily? Is it easy to cut yourself?
Jul 21, 2023 @ 04:36:21
It’s the Art Gum eraser. They used to sell a different brand which was a more uniform “cube” shape— I am not crazy about the Sax gum eraser which is not a cube and often not cut square, but… it’s what’s available. The carving tools are standard linoleum carving tools that consist of a plastic handle with disposable blades that are “V” shaped and come in different sizes. #2 tends to work for most of the designs my students do. The tools are easy to use but I stress to turn the eraser when carving so they are always pushing AWAY from themselves. I also remind them to hold the eraser in place low on the sides so no stray flesh is in the path of the surface being cut. 🙂 Also, this lesson works better when using tempera cakes brushed to a creamy consistency, or water-based speedball block printing ink rolled to a thin consistency—dip your stamp in the rolled ink like you would on an ink pad. Too-wet paint will make a mushy print.