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Core Art Standards:  VA8, VA11

CCSS: R6, R7

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Art as Magic

How does this student artist use technique to reinforce his ideas?

December 2024
Interview by Ellen Song

Jason Stephen, Plutonic Rising 1, Printmaking. Grade 12, David H. Hickman High School, Columbia, MO. Julia Dunn, Educator; Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, Affiliate. Gold Medal

How does Jason explore lighting through lines and crosshatching?

Jason Stephen, 20, uses art to tell universal stories. He graduated from David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, and now attends California Institute of the Arts. He is studying animation and preparing for a career in film.

What story are you telling with Plutonic Rising I?

A spell caster summons a magical orb from spell cards. Her past attempts are piled around her. The spell isn’t working. She looks like she might give up. This story is about art making. As artists, we often focus on the work in front of us, so it can be hard to see the breadth of work we’ve created. This print is paired with Plutonic Rising II, which shows the spell caster successfully summoning the orb. The two works show that art takes a lot of effort but is ultimately magical.

Images courtesy of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Award Winners of 2023.

Jason Stephen

How did you begin?

I started with thumbnail sketches. Then I drew the final design on a larger sheet of paper, which I used as a guide.

What was your working process? I used intaglio printing, which is a laborintensive technique. You start by applying acid-resistant material onto a copper plate, which blackens the plate. Then you carve a design from the acid-resistant material and submerge the plate into an acid bath, which “bites” into the copper lines. After inking the plate, which forces ink into recessed lines, you remove the excess ink and print the remaining design onto paper. Because it’s a print, the final image is a mirror of the plate. To see what it would actually look like, I took pictures of my copper plates and reversed the photos.

What challenges did you experience? It was tough to imagine the finished image during the process, which was sometimes discouraging. My experience reflected the story I was illustrating!

What advice can you give young artists? Don’t compare yourself with other artists. Compare yourself with past versions of yourself. You’re likely improving steadily.

Jason received a Gold Medal for his print in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. 

To learn more about this program, visit artandwriting.org

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