In celebration of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I led a bookmaking workshop that featured Papel Picado (The art and craft of decorative cut paper) as part of my artist residency in bookmaking at the the Panorama City Branch Library, supported by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Participants learned the Accordion Fold technique, and used it to create 11″ high Accordion Fold Books.
They then created simple Papel Picado designs, exploring paper cutting techniques using tissue paper sheets, and added these colorful (or black-) works to our books in various ways.
All of the techniques and materials demonstrated online, through Zoom.
The participants were adventurous, good-humored, and supportive of each other as they moved through the process, and created the beautiful works pictured below.
BRAVO!
This is truly teaching artistry, and learning, for the 21st Century!
Using the simplest techniques, participants used color and cutting to create wondrous designs, which they layered onto to and into their Accordion Fold Books.
Paper cutting using the thin sheets of tissue paper can be demanding under the best of circumstances,. I marveled at what our participants were able to accomplish guided by an online workshop!
Here, black tissue paper is employed to magical and mysterious effect.
Participants also used origami paper to create their Papel Picado designs.
Participants joined the workshop from Arizona, Montreal, and across Los Angeles County, some with grandchildren, demonstrating the potential of the internet and its global reach.
Photographing through a computer screen can be challenging, but the brilliance of these colors and repeated cut-out designs cannot be denied!