The last session before Christmas break saw both the Visual Arts and Writers come together to create hand-made books led by guest teacher Rebecca Goodale. Mixing it up, students took pre-made patterned paper as covers and layered in pages with both string and glue, also cutting out unique shapes and/or creating drawings to lace onto the cover and inside pages. This social atmosphere was loose and conversational as well as collaborative as Rebecca gave instructions and students helped each other navigate the process. Regular teachers Alan Bray and Dawn Potter helped supervise and guide students, offering observations and gentle suggestions as they too made books with the students.
To help inspire students, large paper mache heads representing Monson’s history of slate mining – leftovers from last summer’s Monson Bicentennial parade – greeted students when they arrived and created a creative atmosphere.
Lunch was a pizza party while the sun shone over newly frozen Lake Hebron. We all enjoyed the community feel of the day as students experienced a different kind of learning: none having made a book before they were all on the same page, taking instruction, making mistakes, making successes, paying attention, getting lost in the process of gluing, folding, cutting, while cracking jokes and enjoying the freedom of creative learning.
Time and space to create.
Monson Arts is a new artists’ residency and arts center in Monson, Maine. Programs include residencies for artists and writers, intensive shorter workshops, and educational partnerships with area secondary schools.