In August 2018, I visited Bucknell University as a Guest Artist for Artist First, an intensive, 5-day pre-orientation program. First- and Second-year students learned to embroider and using the medium as a narrative tool; visited Bucknell’s burgeoning farm and waterfront to forage for plants for dyeing and print-making; and collaborated to create stop motion animations, community-derived textiles and a culminating live music performance. Thanks to Dan Newman and Andrew Ciotola for programmatic support.
Thank you to Daniel Nienhuis of the Film/Media Department at Bucknell University for sharing this documentation with student stop motion animations.
Student textiles
Visiting Samek Art Center
Visiting the Samek Art Center, students got a preview of an exhibit of illuminated manuscripts. They also learned about parchment, or paper made from compressed animal skin. Parchment has a scent and a slightly rubbery texture. We all got to feel it, and students experimented with stitching through it, applying their new embroidery skills. In what felt like an improvised performance, students automatically aided one another, several holding the parchment while another pulled the needle and thread through.
Foraging for plants for dyeing and print-making
Foraging in a meadow near Bucknell’s burgeoning farm, August 2018.
Printmaking with Professor Eddy Lopez
