Creative Collaborations

The 20th anniversary of the Reading Connection, an organization dedicated to putting books in the hands of children in housing crisis, was celebrated last night at a Gala in Arlington, VA. Pictured above is a collaborative quilt created by myself, painter Marsha Gallo (pictured on left) and quilter Cleo Hurley. In February, Marsha and I led an arts workshop with Reading Connection children in SE D.C. as part of the non-profits' Imagination Blooms project. Using bright beads, sequins, ribbon, yarn and shapes cut from felt, the children cut and pasted lively collaged images of themselves on a fabric background. No two portraits were alike and represented the uniqueness of each child.

Making Handmade Paper

I team taught a handmade papermaking workshop with middle school students along with Ellouise Schoettler and Gretchen Schermerhorn from Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. Above a student has immersed deckle and frame in a vat of dyed pulp to form his sheet.

Here a student transfers his sheet onto pellon, along with others. These papers were made from blue jeans that had been beaten in a huge blender.

Paste Paper's Promise

Many of my art works begin with paper. Paste paper holds a lot of intrigue for me. There's something about working through the pigment with tools like combs and creating linear patterns. The process is very accessible. Simple enough to teach to kids, yet complex enough for incorporation into collages and other mixed media work.

Face Book

Middle school students in the More Than Words after-school program took the altered book project to a whole new level with the creations they made last week. Imaginations soared with the book pictured above made from recycled magazines, and foil.