How to Make Bubble Wrap Prints

hi I'm Julia hood the manager of school and family learning at Renault a house Museum of American Art today I'm going to show you a simple way of making prints at home using bubble wrap and paint this is what our example looks like I'll show you what you need and how to make it you will need a piece of paper for your artwork this project can get a little messy so I recommend covering your work area with a plastic cover or something like butcher paper newspaper or freezer paper you'll need a sheet of bubble wrap the same size or a little smaller than your paper make sure the bubbles still have air you have to wait to pop them until after you've made your art you can use tempera paint or acrylic or any water-based printing ink if you have it you'll need a brush and something to serve as a palette a paper plate works really well you should also get some water and a paper towel to clean and dry your brush between colors choose your colors and place a small amount of each onto your palette start with the lighter colors like yellow or orange if you are using them try to work quickly so that your paint doesn't dry before you can make your print clean your brush before you change to a different color you can also tape down the bubble wrap to your table to help keep it in place now here I picked up my bubble wrap and flipped it onto my paper but I recommend placing your paper on top of the bubble wrap especially if you have it taped down there's much less chance of making a mess that way but for our purposes you can see here how the paint is transferring to the paper as I gently press the bubble wrap and paper together with my flat palms and fingertips make sure to get all of the edges and the corners then carefully peel your paper up from the bubble wrap or the reverse as I did here

follow the links below to find written instructions and prints from Renaldo's collection to inspire you