Art program and “good food” for the school kids in Nelsonville - York School District

Sara Gilfert , the art director of Paper Circle mentioned that the current executive director of Paper Circle Barb Campagnola started the art program for children.  Sara said in Nelsonville-York School District, no art is taught in the schools. So Barb along with her colleagues, inaugurated a unique art program for the kids in the area. It’s held every summer. They also collaborated with other studios on the Square so children can enjoy sculpting, painting, papermaking, theater production and many different arts. To me it looked  like an intensive but fun experience for children to learn about arts in thier summer vacation.

Food and fun                                                

Soon Paper Circle artists took their community service to the next level. They also included a “good food” program for the school kids. “There is a real need in the area to learn about what good food is,” Sara said. “This is an economically depressed area and children here are not aware of good food.” 

So they added the food element to the art program. They employ a chef to make food available to children. Also, older students do the “kitchen duty” where they learn how to make nutritious food and how to make it available in large quantities. Older students also get paid a little for their “kitchen duty.” The meals are provided free of cost considering the low income profile of the area.

Changing Artists

Another innovative and thoughtful program offered by Paper Circle is the “Changing Artists” series. Through this series, they invite an artist working with another medium to spend a year at Paper Circle.  Sara mentioned that currently Nancy McCauley, who makes bronze sculptures  (and also a painter,) is exploring the world of paper art at Paper Circle.

I think it’s a great idea to have artists working with other mediums work with paper because it facilitates a crossover of different skills and points of view. The experience can enrich the artist by introducing him/her to a new medium and probably also inspire work in his/her original medium.

Sources of funds for Paper Circle

Paper Circle is a not for profit organization. It gets grant from the Ohio Art Council. They also accept donations. Proceeds from the sale of paper art made by the Paper Circle artists, and a token fee for the workshops, are other minor sources of income.

(This is the last post in the series that covered Paper Circle.)

Paper mache tree and colorful paper bowls

Paper Circle offers paid/unpaid internship program that lets interns use the studio equipment, and showcase and sell their work. Currently Susie Thompson is the Paper Circle “artist in residence.”

Susie explained me the process for creating paper mache tree that sits in the studio.

Paper mache tree created by Susie

The process: (as told by Susie Thompson)

# The structure inside the tree was made from foam core and cardboard.

# Susie cut out 2, two dimensional tree shapes; and interlaced them.

#Then she wrapped it in window screen.

# Like “frosting a cake”(I liked the analogy) , she slapped paper mache on it.

# She used real branches for the ends.

# Originally she used paper made of banana peels and abaca..but didn’t like the result.

# So then she started covering it with pigmented dark brown Japanese tissue paper.

# She moved her fingers through the bark to give it the bumpy, uneven look.

She also mentioned that paper mache is really versatile can also be used to make masks etc. Susie said the tree is the first sculpture she made and now wants to make “the whole forest.”

Colorful paper bowls

I saw those colorful paper bowls in the studio and asked Susie the procedure.

Bowls made by Paper Circle artists.

The process:

# Susie said the bowls are made of recycled paper.They ripped the paper apart and turned into pulp.

# Pigments were used to get different colored pulps. They used the fabric dye called RIT.

(Susie recommends applying thin coat of vaseline on the insides of plastic bowls.)

# The next step was to drain water from the pulp and to press the pulp on the insides of the bowls.

(Pressing with sponge helps to get rid of excess water and hardens the layer.Thickness of the bowl can be adjusted through the quantity of pulp used and how hard it is pressed.)

# Different colored pulps were used to create patterns.

# The paper bowls need to dry in the plastic bowl: either in the Sun or could be set in front of a fan.

Susie said it takes about a week for the bowls to dry. Then the paper bowls start popping out of the plastic bowls. Even after taking out from the plastic bowls, the paper bowls may still need to be dried for some time.

# She spreaded glue to make a protective coat.

Susie said the bowls should not be used for eating but are great for decoration. She uses the bowls to organize her desk.