Adinkra Symbols and Aba House in Ghana Inspire Middle School Students

Adinkra Symbols 

For one segment of our handmade paper project, the Art 2 8th grade students at Oakville Middle School learned about Adinkra symbols and handmade paper as part of a cultural exchange of creative ideas at the Aba House in the suburb of Accra, Ghana through the Collaborative Exchange Website. Here's a video of the Aba House children making paper from sugar cane at http://www.culturalcollaborative.org/videos.htm.

A quote from their website: "Cross Cultural Collaborative, Inc. is a non-profit educational organization that promotes cultural exchange and understanding. Our programs emphasize multigenerational and multicultural collaborations encouraging participants to find rewards in different forms of creativity. We bring artists from different cultures together in a supportive environment where they can get to know each other through the language of art. At the core of our program is the belief that interaction between African and non-African artists enriches the creativity of both groups."

After researching the history of Adinkra and how Adinkra stamps are carved from gourds, the Art 2 students each designed their own personal symbol and created a stamp with adhesive backed easy-cut and mat board.

The students tested printing a variety of colors and patterns with their personal symbols.

When the students were not working on their Adinkra stamps, or making handmade paper, they were each designing a book focusing on their personal interests, beliefs, etc.

Each book was folded and cut from a single sheet of white paper. The students glued their stamped handmade paper to the front and back covers.

 

Besides the homework research assignment on the history of Adinkra, students were assessed on: their Adinkra symbol design and craftsmanship of printing; the continuity of their idea or theme, craftsmanship and effort for their handmade book; the number of handmade paper pieces (at least 5); and their responsibility in the art studio classroom.

 

 

Easter Blossoms & Tea Seasons

What a glorious Saturday morning on Main Street! The flowering trees were all dressed in their Easter finest and the smell of fresh bread and steaming hot coffee was mixed with the fragrance of daffodils and magnolia blossoms. Sitting at a table at Sacred Grounds deconstructing Earl Grey tea bags, I felt the energy and fresh rejuvenation of springtime in the hearts and voices of those gathered in the café, as well as those sitting at tables just outside the front door. While I had planned for a two-hour chat with friends and customers while working on my project “A Tea for All Seasons,” the café closed twelve hours early at 11am for Easter weekend. Although no one chose to complete my survey for tea drinkers (not a problem), a few people did stop to ask why I was taking tea bags apart, which gave me the opportunity to explain that the tea bag paper would be used for small handmade books and the loose tea would be used to dye cloth. Some seemed bemused until I added that my husband was English (Cornish actually) and my jute bag filled with used tea bags held a year’s supply of his daily tea consumption. Stereotypical image deeply planted - each person smiled and nodded as if, despite their skepticism, that bit of information finally made sense.

New Beginnings

Off with Their Heads

Today is the first day of my new blog. Very exciting for me as I selected my blog name more than a year ago, late one night, sitting at the computer at my brother-in-law's desk in Mevagissy, Cornwall.  As I have been recycling out of necessity since I was a young girl and now create art from paper ephemera, found objects and my own handmade paper, I felt 2ndhandpaper seemed a good fit.  With this in mind, the newest work I am creating for the "Tossed and Found" show at Main Street Art Gallery in Edwardsville, IL will be handmade books inspired by 2ndhandpaper.  The show opens on April 2 from 6-8pm and runs through April.

The first of the conceptual artist’s books, “Off with Their Heads,” was inspired by an English Anne Boleyn postage stamp and a tour of the Tower of London last summer with family. The book is a collection of vintage envelopes, memorabilia, personal photos and historical facts about the Tower and those unfortunate enough to lose their heads at the command of ruling monarchy, plus a raven’s feather collected from the birds who, according to legend, keep the Tower from falling and a disaster from overtaking the empire.