Yasaman Moussavi

2.42 Learning Through Material: Hand Papermaking as a Medium for Artistic and Educational Growth (Paper) – virtual

Yasaman Moussavi – University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract:

Drawing from experiences teaching grades 1–4 across three different schools in Vancouver, Canada, this research proposal explores the transformative potential of hand papermaking as both an artistic medium and a pedagogical tool. Hand papermaking opens new possibilities within craft, art, and education, offering unique opportunities for learning through tactile engagement and material sensitivity. This research, based on a series of workshops and classroom observations, explores how students learn and develop artistically through their hands-on engagement with papermaking materials. The study examines how material-based learning fosters patience, attentiveness, and creative resilience while building community through collaborative artmaking. A crucial dimension involves the use of recycled materials collected from the schools themselves. By transforming discarded classroom paper into new artistic materials, students gain tangible insight into paper consumption patterns in their immediate environment, making recycling a lived experience rather than an abstract concept. Initial findings reveal a fascinating paradox unique to papermaking: while the process follows basic procedural steps, each session unfolds as a distinctive dialogue between maker and material. Unlike conventional craft activities that prioritize reproducible outcomes, papermaking emerges as a dynamic practice where unexpected moments become valuable learning opportunities. Students learn to embrace these unpredictable elements not as mistakes but as invitations for creative adaptation and material understanding. Through photographic documentation, field notes, and student reflections, this research demonstrates how hand papermaking creates unique spaces for embodied learning, fosters collaborative skills, and develops material awareness. Most significantly, it reveals how the medium’s inherent unpredictability teaches students valuable lessons about adaptability, presence, and letting go of rigid expectations, while nurturing ecological consciousness and creative resilience.

Yasaman Moussavi – Learning Through Material: Hand Papermaking as a Medium for Artistic and Educational Growth (Paper) – virtual