{"id":4113,"date":"2015-03-12T21:38:32","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T02:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wordpress\/?p=4113"},"modified":"2015-03-12T21:38:32","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T02:38:32","slug":"peace-paper-project-event-coming-to-cedar-crest-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=4113","title":{"rendered":"Peace Paper Project Event Coming to Cedar Crest College"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEACE PAPER PROJECT
\nTO BRING SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART
\nTO CEDAR CREST COLLEGE<\/p>\n

ALLENTOWN, PA \u2013<\/strong> March 12, 2015<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 \u2013 The ancient tradition of papermaking gets a new spin, literally, when Peace Paper Project brings its Pedal Power Program to Cedar Crest College later this month. The organization will explore papermaking as a form of public intervention, art therapy, and a socially engaged art practice during a three-day visit to the Allentown campus.<\/p>\n

The portable art studio will visit the campus March 24 \u2013 26<\/span> for three days of papermaking workshops and studios, hands-on demonstrations, and an artist talk with founders Drew Matott and Margaret Mahan. The visit will culminate with a reception at the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley on Thursday<\/span> night at 6:30 p.m.<\/span> featuring a talk by Matott and Mahan, and an exhibit of paper samples made the previous two days.<\/p>\n

Peace Paper Project uses the ancient tradition of papermaking by hand as a vehicle for personal expression and cultural change. Described as the intersection between art as a social action and art therapy, the process of making paper is a direct manifestation of resilience, as it requires breaking something down, such as fabric or plant material, in order to create something new and beautiful. Depending on the fiber that is being processed, as well as the energy of the cyclist, it can take a few minutes or an hour to break down the material.<\/p>\n

Central to the Peace Paper Project\u2019s Pedal Power Program is The Oracle, a unique Hollander beater with its collapsible basin and lightweight parts that make it portable. It operates using a stationary bicycle as its power source by connecting a pulley that would typically be attached to the motor to the back wheel of a bicycle. When the rider pedals the bike, the back wheel spins and engages the beater pulley, which turns the bladed roll at the core of the beater.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an artist who uses papermaking in my studio practice, I have known about the Peace Paper Project for a number of years. Over the past few years I have focused more of my teaching attention and art practice toward community engagement through art,\u201d said Jill Odegaard, Art Professor and Chair of Cedar Crest\u2019s Art Department. \u201cHosting this project is an excellent outreach initiative as we invite the community at large to campus for hands-on studio experiences that lend themselves to image making, dialogue, and creative reflection as we create images based on the theme of \u2018Renewal.\u2019 The Art Department faculty suggested this as a theme so participants can access image making from a place that feels right to them – be it renewal from a personal, environmental, or political perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The visit is a joint effort of the college\u2019s art and psychology departments in cooperation with the Art Museum. The entire three-day event is free and open to the public to attend and participate in. The schedule is as follows:<\/p>\n