I participated in a community art project workshop on Sunday afternoons on paper making. Participants worked together to turn waste into an art by repurposing newspapers, magazines, letters, etc. The project leader encouraged us to bring papers that have personal meaning or pieces that represent our personal history. She shared her own journey into paper making as a student having to travel to different places to study. What is always available to her are scrape papers and she wants to transform them into something beautiful and meaningful. I appreciated very much her perspective on art making – art is an expression of our true self and the journey that we embark on which I think has deep spiritual significance to Christians. The creativity God has given human beings helps us get into a deeper relationship with ourselves, our community, our world, and our Creator.
The project was entitled, “Re-Creation” – how much more theological can you get with an art project title though I don’t think it was not intended to be a “Christian project.” There were so many “wow moments” as I engaged in the paper making process. I could never imagine that recycled materials such as scrap paper, egg cartons, and newspaper can be turned into something so beautiful and with unique character. We began with making white plain paper. The first step is to soak the paper scraps and put it into a blender with water. Depends on the texture one desires; one can blend the scraps into very fine “smoothie” or coarse “crumbs.” Adding more water will change the thickness of the paper being produced. The pulp mixture is the key to the production of the final product. We were encouraged to experiment using different colours of paper, blending the mixture with leaves, and adding various dried flowers and leaves onto the pulp mixture. This process is representational of our life journey – the coming together of different experiences to form the person we are. If we connect our experiences in different ways and mounting them from different angles, our story may turn out very different.
To imagine the crushing process in the blender as a life metaphor could be harsh and disturbing. However, the longer we walk in our life journey, the more likely we would have encountered similar experiences. Apostle Paul shared his own experience in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” While we might feel our lives were being crushed during difficult moments, Paul reminded us that even during such a time we will not be destroyed. Jesus who had suffered as a fellow human being and now our high priest receiving our prayers will never abandon or forsake us. He is also the God who brought chaos into order when the world was created.
The magic happens when the screen is dug down into the pulp mixture then being pull out from the mixture. You cannot predict what you are going to get on that piece of paper as the instructor said, “it’s always a surprise.” There were no pieces of paper that were the same! Each piece carries a unique character and expression. I think this accurately reflects the community nature of this project – participants bring together their unique pieces (stories), blending with their neighbour’s pieces to form a new story. Our lives are transformed by being present with one another. Sometimes we do not know what community we will end up being part of but if we invest in connecting and building relationships and loving our neighbours, we will become a new kind of people who can bless the world.
““See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.” (Isaiah 63:17, 19b)
Resources accompanying the art activity:
“Homemade Paper,” https://www.instructables.com/Homemade-Paper/
“How to make handmade paper: DYI tutorial,”
Psalm 34 (The Psalms Project)
“Re-Creation: A Community Art Project,” https://www.myuna.ca/re-creation-art