The circle is timeless and universal; a shape that is literal, metaphorical, spatial, artful, mathematical, scientific, biological and a social expression of human experiences. Ash R Smith engages with students to make using a process she calls Circlefolding: a wholistic and embodied technology in which to reconnect with the natural rhythms and pattern expressed everywhere in life.
Students will sew a book together using paper circles that offers a unique, fun and fresh framework with which to relate, discover and play with writing, reading, drawing and notetaking. Students practice proportional folding and measuring, hand-eye coordination, observational skills, creative problem solving, community building, cognitive growth and social-emotional toning. Prompts for mindfulness and attention-awareness will weave into the process as a tool to connect with the creative process. Skill-building may include tracing and cutting and application of personal material & design choices and learning simple bookbinding and gluing techniques.
Students may work individually and/or together; informal group sharing gently supports the learning process as students notice and reflect on their experiences, resonating with and differing from others. Circlebooks can be organized around a specific activity or purpose such as poetry, graphic novels, field notebooks for nature studies, mapmaking or daily journaling, for example. Students come away with a process they can repeat and continue to explore on their own.
To view a short video of one of Ash’s Circlebooks in action please use this tiny url: bit.ly/3PeeGve

This program offered by: Ash R Smith