Yes, paper is a great medium for most art and education. It’s particularly good for things like printmaking, where you want a broad range of colors, or sculpture, where you want to be able to change your mind and make changes easily. And it’s wonderful for inventions of various kinds, because it’s so easy to make changes.
There are plenty of other materials that can be used for art and education. But they all have drawbacks. Plastic tends to be more expensive, heavier, and less flexible than paper. Wood is heavier still, and harder to work with than paper — unless you’re building furniture, or something else with big flat surfaces that require a lot of sawing and sanding. Metal is the heaviest of all, hard to work with (although some kinds are easier than others), expensive, and prone to rusting. And glass is even heavier than metal, hard to work plasticize (a fancy way of saying “make flexible”), and somewhat expensive.
How about computers? They seem ideal in a lot of ways: they’re light weight, they’re cheap — or at least becoming cheap; they’re easy to work with; you don’t have the same limitations on size that you do with paper; etc., etc.. But there are
I really want to know why paper is such a good medium for art and education. It’s around us all the time, yet I feel like it’s rarely taken advantage of. I have no idea if this has already been talked about or if it is just a completely new idea, but I’m just curious to know why paper isn’t used more often in art. Is it because it is so common that we don’t think of it as special?
There are so many ways to use paper for art that it is impossible to list them all. Paper can be cut, folded and assembled into a vast range of 3D forms. Paper can be colored and painted with water-based or other paints. It can be used as a base for gluing on buttons or other small decorative items. The texture and feel of paper is itself beautiful and interesting to explore in art projects.
Tear paper, crumple it, roll it into tubes or sculpt with it. Use the torn edges or crumples or tubes as part of an artwork or just leave them as they are. Create collages by layering torn pieces of paper over each other in different directions, colors and textures. Use layers of paper to build up a 3D form from the inside back out.
Paper can be used as a writing surface for penning short notes (it feels wonderful to write on), recording thoughts and ideas (use a large sheet of colored construction paper for this) or making lists.
The Uses of Paper in Education: Paper cuts down on distractions when students are working together in groups because there is no glare from computer screens which makes it easier for students to focus on their work together . Students’ work stays neat because they aren
Paper is a fantastic medium for art, and has been used since the beginning of recorded history! Why?
Paper is cheap, strong and flexible. It can be folded, rolled, cut, crumpled and glued. It is light weight, so you can carry a lot of it with you. It doesn’t need an electrical outlet, or special tools to use it. You can even make your own paper.
There are many types of paper, each with their own feel. You can make your own unique paper using the pulp from plants like flax and junk mail!
There are many ways to use paper in art. You can draw on it with pencils, markers or crayons. You can add color by painting on it with watercolors, acrylic paints or oil paints (you might have to spray it with fixative first). You can even add dyes to the pulp if you want them to be permanent (the dyes will fade over time).
The same paper that artists use can be used in schools as part of projects and lessons. Students can create studies of symmetry by folding paper in different ways, or they could create masks. Paper crafts are great for kids because they are easy to do and don’t require any special tools!
Paper is one of the most versatile mediums for artists, offering an almost endless number of techniques and materials. There are so many different ways to use paper for art!
We have seen some amazing creative paper projects out there and thought it was time to share what we have found with you. Here is a look at some of our favorite paper art projects from around the web.
In my last post I talked about the importance of building relationships with mentors, colleagues and friends. I also talked about the power of using art as a medium for sharing knowledge, insights and ideas. It’s this relationship building that has helped me to discover that there are many reasons to use paper in your art and craft projects.
Now let me share some of those reasons with you:
1) Paper is accessible to everyone. It’s cheap, readily available and can be used by anyone regardless of age or financial status.
2) Paper can be made into just about any shape you desire.
3) You can use paper for artistic creations in so many ways…printing, folding, cutting, painting, gluing, etc.
4) It’s versatile in that it can be used for both 2D (flat) artwork as well as 3D (dimensional) artwork.
5) It’s easy to take your paper creation from one form to another such as from a 2D drawing or painting into a 3D sculpture or diorama using a little imagination!
6) It doesn’t require any special equipment other than an X-acto knife (or scissors or paper cutter). 🙂
7) It’s portable which makes it easy to get
You can also recycle old books and magazines to make new ones. Just cut them into strips and glue them into your own handmade paper.
A book called The Paper Garden, by Rosalind Creasy, is a great resource for ideas on how to use paper in your garden. In this book she shows you how to make beautiful butterflies out of old magazines, and how to make a scarecrow out of a manila folder.
