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Lesson Plans


What is it like teaching art?/Couching

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Anitra Puntolillo (anitra)
Sat, 09 May 1998 05:04:39 -0400

This is such great information. I now understand the process and plan to try my hand at
couching with my students next year. The plasticine idea is great too!

Thanks for taking the time to explain this further.

I just realized your address says africa. Where? What's it like where you are? What are
your teaching conditions for art? Are you on a cart? What grades do you teach? What is the
teaching philosophy? For anyone else out there please share your situations.

I teach in New Jersey in the United States. Elementary Art K-5. The arts in the past have
been considered to be an extra and not as important as the 3 R's. Over the past year or
so I have seen a lot more respect for the arts. Our state has just adopted a plan that
emphasis the importance and value for the arts to all learning. In addition they have
adopted DBAE (Discipline Based Art Education-History, Criticism, Aesthetics and
Production) and Interdisciplinary teaching..

I presently teach in two schools. One school has a small room with a sink. In the other
school, I am on a cart from classroom to classroom. I manage to teach the same things on
and off the cart. I love teaching art and do not let the limitations of my situation
dictate how or what I should teach.

Thanks again for sharing

Anitra

ttipton.tz wrote:

> Couching is a term for taking paper pulp off of a screen onto another
> surface. It is a papermaking term. Printmaking is possible to do on
> the plasticene - thanks for reminding me - it would be a nice
> contrast to create the paper first and then ink the plasticene before
> you put it back into the can. Couching refers to the part of
> the process of creating paper after dipping a screen into a vat of
> paper pulp (an old picture frame with screen door netting stretched across the surface
> will do), and after letting the water drain off, you flip it over onto another
> surface, removing the water, thereby creating handmade paper.
> Couching is taking it off the screen. To couch or not to couch, that
> is the question!
>
> There are several good papermaking books that have pictures.
> I hope this helps? Thanks for asking.
>
> Regards,
> Teresa Tipton
>
> Date: Thu, 07 May 1998 05:20:12 -0400
> From: Anitra Puntolillo <anitra>
> To: ttipton.tz
> Subject: Re: Couching over Plasticene
>
> Hi, your idea has intrigued me but I am afraid I am a bit ignorant to couching.
>
> What is it ? Are you printmaking off of the plasticine is the color from the
> different colors of the plasticine, does it pick up the texture you carved in
> the relief?
>
> I agree with Lee, pictures would really help this one.
>
> Thanks!
>
> ttipton.tz wrote:
>
> > I have students make shapes from plasticene and put them onto
> > pieces of cardboard in the design they want. They then couch a piece
> > of paper separately onto a handiwipe. From there, you pick up the
> > couched paper on the handiwipe -
> > (you can pick it up and move it around without tearing or
> > destorying the paper unless there's too much water in it_ - and place
> > it over the plasticene. I use cardboard pieces for the backing because
> > I don't have access to plexiglas, but plexiglas is really the best.
> > It leaves an amazingly smooth surface texture around the shape
> > that cannot be achieved from any other material...When I was in the
> > states I could get plexiglas scraps free or very cheap from plastics
> > companies.
> >
> > You sponge the paper over the shape from the back of the handiwipe.
> > Then as you lift up the handiwipe, help peel the paper off from the
> > handiwipe, leaving the paper over the form. I then use my fingers to
> > more firmly press into the details of the plasticene from what the sponge
> > didn't do. You have to keep in mind that the paper has to be thick if
> > the forms of the plasticene are 1/2 inch high or more. You can do the
> > multicolor process first and then couch over the plasticene. It's
> > also very effective to add bits of flowers etc. into the pulp on the
> > screen before it is couched, so that the final piece is a relief form
> > with lots of interesting surface textures/colors/shapes.
> >
> > I have also squeezed out blobs of colored pulp and placed them over
> > the plasticene directly, making paper without a frame, using the
> > handiwipe and sponge over the top to squeeze out excess water. The
> > plasticene can be reused and is a good use for mixed up colors of
> > plasticene that get ugly from too much color mixing/use. The
> > handiwipes are very useful because
> > they can be thrown in the washing machine and cleaned up for next
> > use. They last quite a long time and are well worth the expense. I
> > have the students put a piece of masking tape on the handiwipe with
> > their name on it which helps later for easy identification. If you
> > are removing paper from the handiwipe when its dry, you can put the
> > tape on the back of the paper and sort by class. The tape
> > will pull up bits from handiwipe over time if it is left on there too
> > long and not removed afterwards, however. In this part of the world
> > they are called "J" cloths.
> >
> > Does that help?
> >
> > Thanks for asking!
> >
> > Regards,
> > Teresa
> >
> > From: Maahmaah <Maahmaah>
> > Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 18:53:46 EDT
> > To: ttipton.tz
> > Subject: Re: Mother's day projects
> >
> > In a message dated 98-05-05 14:19:05 EDT, you write:
> >
> > << I have also been using shapes made from plasticene to
> > create relief forms, and the hand can also be made from plasticene
> > with the paper couched over it with either the one or two color
> > process. Actually, today, I had some fourth graders do this method
> > with three colors. Way cool! >>
> >
> > Hi, Teresa,
> > Great ideas! Can you please explain more of the process of how you use the
> > plasticene? I can't quite visualize what you are saying, and it sounds too
> > interesting to pass up. Too bad you can't e-mail pictures: )
> > -Lee