Victoria Hutson Huntley was a well-known printmaker in the 1930s and 1940s. Printmaking is a process in which the artist carves or etches a design onto a solid surface (called a plate), then transfers it onto another surface, like paper, using paint or ink. In this print, Huntley shows a view of New York City. She includes all the buildings, roofs, train tracks and boats that make up the bustling city. You can even see the Statue of Liberty in the background! A picture of a city is called a cityscape.
In this project, you will create your own cityscape print. What details stand out to you in Huntley’s print? Think about your city or town. Are there any buildings, signs or physical features that make where you live unique? How can you arrange those elements to create your own cityscape? It can be based on a real place or imaginary.
For this activity you will need:
- A Styrofoam plate (any flat Styrofoam surface will work)
- Paper
- Paint
- A pencil, skewer or chopstick
- A sponge or foam brush
To make your print:
- Flip your Styrofoam plate over so you are working on the back.
- Draw your cityscape lightly with a pencil. Think about what kind of buildings you want in your city. How many buildings? Will they have lots of windows? What time of day is it? What other features, like electrical poles or cars, will you include?
- Trace over your finished drawing with your pencil. Press down evenly and firmly so that you carve into the Styrofoam without pressing all the way through it.
- Apply a thin, even coat of paint to the entire surface of the plate with your sponge or foam brush.
Make sure to coat the whole design, but try to get as little paint as possible into the lines of your drawing. - Flip your plate over and place it paint-side down on a sheet of paper.
- Press down hard and rub the plate to transfer the paint onto the paper.
- Peel the plate off your paper. Now you have a cityscape print!
- Wipe off your plate. You can use your plate again with a different color of paint by repeating steps 4 through 7. How many different prints can you make?