I started teaching art workshops at another Juvenile Detention facility in Maryland in December, through the non-profit organization,
Class Acts Arts in Silver Spring. Classes were held Christmas eve and I wanted to introduce a project that was fun and meaningful, in addition to teaching them new paper decorating and folding techniques. We made cut paper ornaments from shiny foil paper and then made others that they glued on the front of blank cards or simple accordion books. They used rubber letter stamps to form messages in the cards. I then taught two folded paper techniques to make long garlands from wrapping paper that could be later used to decorate the tree that was on their unit. Each girl experienced some level of success as they cut, tore, folded and embellished paper.
