Papercut Workshop in the Library

Papercut and tapestry artist Tamar Shadur came to the library yesterday evening to conduct a workshop for Hampshire students interested in learning this ancient art form.  About 15 students (and a couple of staff and faculty members) came to the Hill Urbina Room on the 3rd floor to learn how to make papercut work around the theme of the “Tree of Life.”    Tamar started with a discussion about the many meanings and connotations of the Tree of Life, and students quickly added all sorts of ideas from different perspectives, religious traditions, and ancient cultures. She brought lots of examples of work, and we talked about positive and negative space, dimension, the possibility of symmetry, and the need to create a border.    Then, with a simple demonstration, some origami paper, pencil, eraser, and ruler, students got to work! After their designs were done, the cutting part began, with teeny tiny scissors and the occasional use of an x-acto knife. You can see the varied and beautiful results! The library is grateful to the Center for the Book at Hampshire College for funding this wonderful workshop, and we hope to able to hold more of these types of experiences. Spending an evening in the library eating pizza and cutting intricate designs seemed to be just the antidote to another snowy night!