Yr 9 Lino Printmaking: Printing in Action and Finished Prints

Catherine McAuley Westmead Year 9 Visal Arts Lino Printmaking
Year 9 Students from Ms Schmaltz and Mrs Pass's Visual Arts Classes

Celebrating Culture and Nature Through Print, Year 9 Artists Explore Flora, Identity, and Technique

During Term 3, Year 9 Visual Arts students created a series of lino block prints inspired by their visit to the Art Gallery of NSW. Drawing on native Australian flora and the work of Modernist artist Margaret Preston, alongside the more contemporary work by Aboriginal artist Tony Albert, students developed unique designs that celebrated both nature and cultural Australian art influences.

The creative process began with observational sketches inspired by real native flora arrangements and still life objects in class, which were then composed onto lino blocks for carving. Using specialised carving tools, students explored detailed mark-making before printing their designs with a printing press and hand baren. A key challenge and highlight of the project was mastering the colour reduction technique—carefully carving and layering colours one at a time to achieve rich, multi-toned contemporary prints.

Catherine McAuley Westmead Year 9 Visal Arts Lino Printmaking

After completion of the print series, students created a self-evaluation, taking into consideration their overall strengths throughout the printmaking process, areas for improvement, and providing their teachers with task feedback.

The final art prints will be exhibited and showcased at the CAPA Showcase in Week 7, with a collection of prints made available to fundraise for the Jesuit Refugee Fundraising. We look forward to seeing you there!