I have been honored to be an Artist-in-Residence at the Sunland-Tujunga Library, supported by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, conducting a series of bookmaking workshops for the community. As part of this Residency, I conducted two workshops at Verdugo Hills High School, for Freshman VAPA (Visual and Performing Arts Magnet) students.
I taught the fun and fascinating flag book structure, and the stellar English VAPA teacher Mrs. Leserman worked with the students in class between the workshops to develop their books.
To connect the project with her VAPA English Curriculum which included the study of J.D. Salinger‘s Catcher in the Rye, she had the students develop the outsides of their books to reflect the ways they felt they were being seen, and how they wanted to be seen by the outside world, and then directed them to develop the inside flag pages to express how they actually felt on the inside.
On February 15th, we held a Residency Culmination event at the Library, featuring the VAPA students OUTSIDE-INSIDE flag books. Viewers were intrigued and moved to see these revelatory books, which shared so much about their makers. Expressive, brave, unique,m beautiful, these works offer a glimpse into what it is to be a freshman in High School today.
Bravo.
Indeed.