Paper Pulp Palooza

Did you combat soil erosion this summer? The 8-10 year old camp at IS183 Art School of the Berkshires did! In the Earth to Fire camp, taught by ceramicist Ben Evans, students sifted locally dug clay and created vessels to smoke fire. I had a great time popping in for three of the classes as the visiting paper artist! We talked about the importance of soil and the causes of soil erosion as an introduction to making our plantable seed paper. Students added paper from recycled IS183 catalogs and blended them to make a thick bluish pulp. We mixed in grass and wildflower seeds and each student strained their own pieces. 
During my next visit, each student mixed their own pulp and added colored tissue paper to make buckets full of what looked like bright fruit smoothies. We crowded around the picnic table to press the pulp around upside down bowls to create their very own paper vessels. I made my own example with a turkey vulture skull image inside. An awesome week!
Photos by IS183's Cecilia Hirsch. 

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