During this workshop, a group of learners collaborated on forming a giant sheet of paper, drawing on it, and folding it into origami.

This workshop was held at Buck’s Rock Camp, a montessori arts space for learners aged 10-17. Roughly 20 participants opted-in to take part in the process from start to finish.

• Bring the community together through a collaborative project of huge scale.

• Give community ownership over the studio space by choosing how to create and display a paper object.

• Explore the material properties of various paper fibers and their interactions (cotton, denim rag, unbleached Manila hemp, short fiber Manila hemp, cotton-linen blend) through experimentation and low-stakes risktaking.

• Explore advanced papermaking techniques such as pulp painting, blowouts, and layering.

• Explore alternative sheet drying techniques such as sponging, hand pressing, and deckle-restrained drying.

• Participants were excited to experience their work being on display in the studio and in a final exhibition.

• Participants were later able to distinguish paper fibers for their properties and choose which they wanted to use in future projects.

• Participants learned which papermaking techniques they’d want to later explore further in the studio. Many went on to do other projects involving pulp painting, blowouts, and layering techniques.