What you’re looking at is a selfie that became a digital drawing, then a manipulated image through the use of filters, then a laser cut on perspex, then an intaglio print using an etching press!
 
 

 
 
Over the past few months we’ve been exploring art-making applications for our school laser cutter. I’ve written a few posts about this powerful new tool and the collaborations that are happening between the studio and our Design and Technology learning spaces here at St Hilda’s School.

On this page you’ll see some further works that our students have produced as we explore some pretty exciting workflows. As you can see with these images that combine photography with digital drawing tools, you can achieve a really high level of detail. I think we’ve got the etching process right, and when the inking up is also spot on, the prints are really accurate.

If you’d like to see more of the ‘how to’ stuff, In THIS POST I’ve unpacked a similar process, drawing in layers on top of a selfie, and here you see those images were converted to line and printed on perspex (plexiglass) as DETAILED HERE. What we’ve ended up with is an exploration of a variety of mediums as they explore new media alongside traditional art-making tools, and a wonderful journey through the creative process.
 
 

 
 
 
Using copies of the etching in combination with colour print outs from our digital drawings, we produced collages. These mixed media works represent an opportunity for students to build on their experiences within each investigation and produce a resolved image. The success of this culminating work does not really on the success of the previous step in the process – it’s an engaging way to develop confidence in the creative process.

 

 
Using connected tasks across a hands-on, creative workflow allows students to build a folio of imagery across media areas. No technique or tool is valued over any other, and materials merge and mix.