Book of Home project at LaGuardia Senior Center.18 8/24/2021

 

LMCC - Creative Learning Grant

Accordion Book

 Blog 18 8/24/2021

Our last class! It’s hard to believe how fast our workshop has flown by. Openings and closings are bittersweet, but we had fun miming an object that opened and closed for the class to guess. Hil Ping had us laughing when she opened and closed her mouth, Lily mode an elegant opening dance move and Chi opened a book and began to read. 

We finished our pages which reflected opposite feelings about an everyday object and added words which described our emotions. In order to do so we selected two different backgrounds of decorative paper or newsprint which reflected these opposing feelings and cut each into a shape which reflected that emotion and glued each object into its respective position.

Students laid their accordion book out so that the ribbon was underneath. Next, they ordered their pages according to the story they wanted to tell. Samples were shared of what writing could accompany each page and different styles and shapes the writing could take. Now it was the students’ turn to glue their pages and writing into their book. 

Finally, we focused on the title and how to find the best word or words by thinking of the story the book tells, the feeling expressed or by looking at a specific page for inspiration. Spica demonstrated how to write the word(s) in Chinese and English if desired on grid paper preferably or white or light colored paper. Writing in pencil first allows for mistakes to be corrected, then outlined in black sharpie. Students chose a background of decorative paper and experimented with layout, then glued the elements from the bottom first, and added their name. 

Next week is the Public Event at which their work will be shared with an audience of invited guests, friends, and family. Each student will be asked to select a page and talk about it, focusing on why they chose it, what they learned, what story it tells and comment on the page’s composition.