52 Weeks of Art: Week 24

Week 24: Scratchboard

Welcome to week 24 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     This week's medium was scratchboard. I haven't done anything with scratchboard since high school. My Little One LOVES doing scratchboards... but she just scratches everything off. I think she just enjoys the scratching part. 

     If you don't know what scratchboard is, it's a board that you can get in white, gold, silver, multicolor, whatever, and it's covered in black India ink. You use a scratch tool (or you can use a toothpick, a paperclip, something sharp and pointy) and you scratch off the black - CAREFULLY - to reveal the color underneath. You're really gonna want to do it carefully, otherwise you end up with scratch marks on the color underneath. Not pretty.

     If you don't want to buy scratchboard, but still want to try it, you can very easily make your own. Will it look as nice as a store bought scratchboard? No. Will it still be a fun art project to do? Yes. For this simple DIY version you need some paper - cardstock works best - some crayons, and some black tempera paint.

    Color your paper with whatever colors you want. You can go with just one color or a rainbow of colors. It's your art, who am I to tell you what colors to use? Brush off any extra crayon crumbs. Then paint the black tempera on top. This is the most important part: wait for it to dry! When it's dry you can use any of the previously mentioned tools to scratch off the paint. 

     I think of scratchboard as like reverse pen and ink work. Instead of putting down the ink, you're taking it away. Here's some examples of scratchboard art:

Found this little guy here.

Found this beauty here.

And, here's my finished scratchboard artwork. It was very difficult to take a picture of it because the color underneath is silver - it's like a mirror. I did the best I could.

Silver Tentacles 

Silver Tentacle.

          

On to rating scratchboard...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for scratchboard, my rating is: 19

Ease of use: 4

 This is a fairly simple medium to use. The only problem with it is the fact that it is so easy to scratch off. It's easy to accidentally scratch something off you didn't want to scratch off.

Affordability: 5

     Each scratchboard costs about a $1.00. I'd say that's pretty affordable.

Accessibility: 5

     You can get scratchboards at an arts and crafts or at any art supply store. Or, again, I'm a huge fan of Amazon.

Fun to Use: 5

    I like this medium. It's just fun to scratch the ink off.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!