During this inaugural event on July 22, 2023, the Museum hosted eight artisans selling goods created using sustainable materials and processes to support our REUSE, RECYCLE, & REPURPOSE theme. Check out their stories here.

This event was made possible by a Special Projects Grant from Essex County Community Foundation as well as our ACM Program Sponsors.

Botanical Printing 

Background: Monotype printing became relatively common in the late 19th century, although there are examples from as early as the15th century. A single print is produced by making one impression from a smooth surface on which an image has been created using ink or paint. In this activity you will create one, original print in two-steps. First, using a leaf or other botanical to mask some of the paint on the plate. Second, to remove the leaves and print again the image left by the texture and veins of the leaf.

Directions: Download the PDF document to get a materials list and step-by-step directions to create your own botanical prints.

Paper landscape collage

Background: Collage from the French word "to glue" or "to stick together" is a technique of art creation which results in an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. A collage may sometimes include magazine and newspaper clippings, ribbons, paint, bits of colored or handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas.

The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.The term Papier collé was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

Directions: Download this PDF document to get a materials list and step-by-step directions to create your own landscape collage.

Paper Beads

Background: Making paper beads is a traditional craft that originated in England and goes back as far as the Victorian age. Young ladies would gather socially in their dining rooms, making handmade paper beads from scraps of wallpaper rolled on knitting needles. They would then polish the beads with bees wax and string them on to long pieces of yarn. They would then be used to make door curtains to divide rooms.

This practice was then revived in the 1920s and 30s for paper bead jewelry making. More recently artists-made paper beads have been made in cooperatives as part of development projects in countries such as Uganda. This sees a move away from charitable aid towards business enterprises that provide sustainable income and development opportunities.

Directions: Download this PDF document to get a materials list and step-by-step directions to create your own paper beads.

Yarn & Wood Ornament

Background: Ojos de Dios (oh-ho-day-DEE-ohs), “god's eyes,” are ritual objects made by the Huichol (wet-chol) indigenous people of Mexico. The Huichol symbolism of the god's eyes is primarily associated with the prayers for their children – prayers for a good long life, protection, and to insure abundant crops.

Directions: Download this PDF document to get a materials list and step-by-step directions to create your own ornament.

Filmed and produced by Meryl Goldsmith.
merylcgoldsmith.com