Summer Education In The Paper Arts!
Throughout the summer, we have been busy working with Cleveland area schools to provide excellent immersive paper education for students of all ages! Our lead studio & community arts coordinator Michaelle Marschall has been leading multiple custom workshops, including papermaking and printmaking. Michaelle has worked with students for
multiple weeks at a time to build and develop the student's skills. Beginning with bringing the papermaking to the classroom, Marschall instructs students about the basics of western papermaking. These techniques include introducing the mould and deckle, pulling a sheet of paper, couching (pronounced “coo-ching”) sheets onto felts, and pulp painting. Students then work with Marschall to discover either printmaking or bookbinding with their newly made papers. Printmaking entailed using those handmade sheets to print inspirational messages. Students learned how to ink preset type and work with our line-o-scribe press in the classroom. These messages included “Be Kind,” “Love Yourself,” and “Dream Big.” Next, they learned pamphlet stitch to create their own handmade books.
Marschall worked with 5th through 8th-grade students from the local non-profit organization, Esperanza Inc; “The mission of Esperanza is to improve the academic achievement of Hispanics in Greater Cleveland by supporting students to graduate high school and promoting post-secondary educational attainment.” We have worked with the Esperanza team in conjunction with their STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) summer camp program. This is a free summer camp that takes place during the months of June and July. Focusing on personal growth, developing resiliency & leadership, career & cultural awareness, community service, public policy education, and financial literacy, these programs are taught to increase Hispanic graduation rates in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. We are thrilled to partner with this outstanding organization for their summer camp this year.
Marschall also worked with University Settlement for their summer camp. The same process was taken to these students where Michaelle taught them papermaking, then either printmaking or bookbinding. University Settlement is a non-profit organization that has been
providing much-needed social services to the residents of the Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood since 1926. We are proud to be the premier social services provider and to continue our mission: “To offer the individuals and families we serve resources by which they can learn, grow, and thrive.” University Settlement has many programs that are divided into four main categories: Community Programs, Family Programs, Youth Programs, and Senior Programs. All of these work hand-in-hand to address the needs of individuals in the Slavic Village Neighborhood and to serve the residents in the best way possible.
Finally, Marschall has worked with Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center. Miss Latina image Leadership Program is offered by Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center in collaboration with Yasin Cuevas, Program Director. The program is for young girls ages 13-17, its purpose is to inspire, educate and empower young women to achieve their full potential. Julia De
Burgos Cultural Arts Center was founded in 1989 by Daisy Rivera and the combined efforts of the Cultural Educational Institute for Boricua Advancement (CEIBA) and the Hispanic Parents Union. These organizations united to realize a long-time dream of establishing a family-oriented center to serve the Latino youth and their families through programs and activities designed to foster cultural pride and art appreciation. In the paper studio with Michaelle, they learned how to form western sheets using cotton pulp, then used well-beaten pigmented cotton linter to pulp paint onto their base sheets.
Please enjoy these photos of students working through their classes, you can view more photos on our Facebook page under “Community Arts Summer.”